Op-Ed Contributors

How can Asia raise its pitch at G20

By Pradumna B. Rana (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-06 07:59

The G20 summit is a process that is evolving and no one can predict exactly where it will end. The group was self appointed as the "premier forum for international economic cooperation", but there remain important questions related to membership, legitimacy, and agenda that need to be addressed.

In Pittsburgh, US President Barack Obama announced that the G20 would replace the G8, but this has not happened yet and the G8 met recently in Toronto, Canada, back to back with the G20 summit.

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The next G20 summit is scheduled for November in Seoul, the first in Asia. This provides an opportunity for Asia to take actions so that it is represented effectively and heard properly at the meetings. Important decisions in relation to financial standards and codes are to be taken in Seoul, and Asian countries should be there in full force and speak with one voice.

Asia-Pacific is represented at the G20 by China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Australia and the Republic of Korea (ROK). In addition to pursuing a bilateral agenda, say with the US or the European Union, how can the G20's Asian members synergize and jointly leverage their growing economic and political power into more effective participation in the grouping? How can Asia collectively strengthen its voice at the G20?

It can do so in three ways.

First, Asia should realize the centrality of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) in Asia's regional architecture, and lobby to formalize the membership of ASEAN representatives in the G20. Under current G20 practice of inviting representatives of regional groupings, the ASEAN chair and the ASEAN secretary general participated at the London, Pittsburgh and Toronto summits. The ASEAN Leaders' Statement from the ASEAN Hanoi summit in April 2010 states: "ASEAN strongly believes that it can contribute to the deliberations of the G20 through the continued participation of the ASEAN chair and the ASEAN secretary general in the future G20 summits." But this is not enough. Asian countries have to make strong diplomatic efforts to formalize and regularize the participation of ASEAN representatives in G20 summits.

Second, Asian countries should organize meetings of the "expanded" ASEAN+3 before the G20 summits to coordinate policies and develop common views. After the Asian financial crisis, a number of forums for policy coordination were established. They include the Executives' Meeting of East Asian and Pacific Central Bankers and the ASEAN Surveillance Process. The most comprehensive among them and the one with the strongest technical support is the ASEAN+3 Economic Review and Policy Dialogue (ERPD), which brings together the finance ministers and deputies of 13 countries (ASEAN plus China, Japan and the ROK).

A system to monitor financial sector vulnerabilities and early warning systems of banking and financial crises has also been established. And Singapore recently announced it would set up an ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office by May 2011 to support the ASEAN+3 ERPD.