By James Wallar
Myanmar punctuated its emergence from isolation and pursuit of reforms by announcing its desire to Chair the 2014 Summit meetings of the Association of South East Nations (ASEAN). ASEAN (too?) quickly agreed. International scrutiny will be intense on Myanmar’s stewardship of ASEAN’s programs and on whether its domestic reforms make it a credible ASEAN representative. It is a coming out party with high risks, but high payoffs.
Myanmar’s move to chair ASEAN is a curious twist. The country rejected being a founding member in 1967 due to concerns about intrusion in its domestic policies. Now ASEAN has transformed itself into a rule-based institution, championing good governance and democracy, and engaging on member’s national issues that affect the group’s shared commitment to security, peace, and prosperity. Myanmar is doubling down on its ASEAN gambit, with the payoff being positive regional and international recognition.
The international donor community could take advantage of the developments in Myanmar and ASEAN. Rather than creating a new compact for assistance programs, it could use Myanmar’s commitments in ASEAN to align their assistance programs.
Topics covered by substantive ASEAN commitments cover both Myanmar’s own development objectives and the international donor community’s top priorities. ASEAN is seeking to build an ASEAN Community based on political/security, economic, and socio-cultural measures grounded on international principles. These same areas match Myanmar’s development priorities. ASEAN issues encompass the entire spectrum of issues likely to be considered important to donors: human rights, governance, anticorruption, capacity building, health, labor, trade, investment, environment and disaster management.
By aligning assistance programs with Myanmar’s ASEAN commitments and work programs, donors would leverage assistance, promote Myanmar’s national development as well as its integration with ASEAN and the broader international community. Such assistance could support specific development achievements that Myanmar could highlight when it chairs ASEAN. The U.S. government is well positioned to orchestrate this process. As of July this year Myanmar will be the country coordinator for ASEAN-U.S. dialogue, complementing a nascent bi-lateral diplomatic relationship.
Aligning assistance programs with Myanmar’s ASEAN commitments would mean that all — Myanmar, ASEAN, the US and other donors – would be pulling in the same direction. Chances for a successful coming out party would only increase.
James Wallar is the Senior Vice President, International, of Nathan Associates, an economic consulting firm. He spent two years working in the ASEAN Secretariat after a career in the US Treasury working on trade, finance, and development issues, including in Iraq and Afghanistan.
