Asia should set up unit for regional response

By Anthony Rowley, The Business Times, May 29, 2008

It's time it tackled common problems through concerted action

Sometimes, I despair of Asia's ability, literally, to get its act together. There have been numerous examples recently of events where some sort of concerted Asian response would have been desirable, even if only to make political and administrative leaders aware of the need for possible action.

So, let me propose a new Asian Secretariat with a hotline to presidential, prime ministerial or cabinet offices throughout Asia.

First, soaring food and energy prices. Here is an obvious area where concerted regional action is warranted, whether to discuss issues such as availability of grain stocks and questions of distribution, or to share experiences (and maybe even come up with a common policy) on energy subsidies.

It was left to the Asian Development Bank to work out some kind of regional response on both issues, but the ADB is not a soverign policy-making body.

Food and energy issues have a global dismension and there are agencies such as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization or the International Energy Agency to deal with them at an international level. But it could do nothing but good to have a rapid response capability in Asia to supplement such mechansims.

For example, Japan has opened its rice stockpile to the Philippines, a move that surely should have been discussed in a regional context.

The surge in food and energy costs has forced inflation up to the top of the agenda for some governments and central banks in Asia (not least in Vietnam where inflation is now at an astonishing annualised rate of 25 per cent).

This, too, is a common regional problem that requires (demands) a common regional response, including possible joint action to appreciate currencies to reduece inflationary pressures.

I learned this week from reliable sources that, far from working towards such joint responses, Asian finance ministers are now backing away from the idea of any joint monetary initiative. Their view now, it appears, is that the yen has missed its chance to become a peg currency for Asia and the yuan is not yet ready.

In the meantime, a currency basket or Asian currency unit that could aid in joint revaluation of regional currencies is off the agenda.

Another example: US assistant secretary for nuclear energy Dennis Spurgeon came to Tokyo last week proclaiming loudly that nuclear generation of electricity (as an alternative to oil and other fossil fuels) is firmly back on the global agenda.

The US and Japan intend to cooperate on a major programme of research and development in nuclear power and on financing and building nuclear reactors, he declared.

Though the US offical did not say so in so many words, the thrust of his message was that, where the US and Japan give a lead, the rest of Asia should be content to follow.

Yet, if ever there was an area in which regional consultation and policy making is desirable, it is here. Is the rest of Asia really happy to 'go nuclear' in a big way just because the US and Japan say that it's the way to go and that it's safe (even while China is voicing fears about 'radiation sources' buried by the earthquake in Sichuan province). On teh subject of earthquaekes, the Financial Times reported this week that Swiss Re-the world's bigest reinsurance company- is at an advanced state of negotiations with four Asian governements to sell insurance policies that would pay out hunders of millions o fdollars in emergency and nationwide funding following a natural disaster. (Think of the Chengdu earthquake or Myanmar cyclone).

Score one for Swiss Re's opportunism but again where is the Asian initiative and joint response capability on such issues? It so happens that some 20 years ago, a very forward-thinking financial official in the Philippines came up with the idea of establishing an Asian reinsurance corporation or market to meet exactly such contingencies.

The idea got short shrift from Manila's neighbours because they judged it too rishy. Now that Europeans are suggesting it, presumably it will be judged respectabel. Whenever you look, it seems that Asian policymakers are too timid or unimaginative to pursure regional initiatives seriously, in anything from an Asian Monetary Fund or currency cooperation to adopting a common approach to food and energy issues.

And, when they do occasionally move, it seems to be at a pace that puts snails and tortoises comfortable out in front of the field.

So, why not establish a jointly funded governemnt secretariat, or call it what you will, with offices in all regional capitals of Asia, staffed by officicals whose job is to alert political leaders of issues that appear to require a regional response.

Their duties would be limited to reporting. If a sufficient number of the leaders felt that some reaction was justified, a regional summit could be convened, among leaders themselves or their representatives.

This would be different from the numerous think-tanks and working groups taht exist already in this region and whose measured pace of proceeding is not suited at all to the multiple challenges that crop up almost continuously.

Such a mechanism, although having only an advisory or alerting function initially, could create dialogue amony Asian leaders outside of occasional summits and chance encounters on the sidelines of other meetings.

It could then become an Asian community secretariat or commission. There may be better ideas but the need for Asian leaders to meet and talk on a regular basis than at presnet surely cannot be denied.

office space #1

林先生早上送我的一小盆绿色，刚刚陪伴我1天


老马送我的一盆刺，陪伴我已经1年了


办公用品，陪伴我的时间不长，用的次数也不多


大一时候的选择，从未后悔，陪伴我漂洋过海，不过即将开始的游学可能要换一位伴侣了。。。


买电脑时的副产品，体积小，容量小，常满常删


06年末刚入我家时算是时尚逸品，现在看来也仅仅是比ipc160g少了80g，音质清单，足以满足我的木耳


d900，那时你是最牛的wm机，如果体积能再小点。。。


lee，如果你所体现的厚度不是因为自身的设计原因，那该多好


px200，音质对得起价钱，舒适度因时间而定，线材太差，德国也不过如此


电水壶的副产品，他陪我干掉了3-4筒茶叶，数不清的美禄和咖啡


bata的鞋，性价比极高，究竟穿了多久，味道可以证明一切


垃圾桶还是那个垃圾桶，垃圾袋却不再是那个垃圾袋，感谢林先生每天的辛勤劳动
躲在后面的那双asics，我唯一一双用来跑步的跑步鞋，拥有时间仅次于牛津8000。。。

向大家推荐以后的消费方向

以后喝王老吉（捐款1亿），存钱到工商（ 8726万），还是用移动（5820万），买电器到苏宁（5000万），买保险买平安（ 3500万），喝白酒喝泸州老窖（3000万），DVD买步步高（2500万），买药修正牌（2500万），上网用QQ（2000万），运动服装穿李宁 （1249万），电 脑买联想（1000万），洗衣机买海尔（1000万），空调买美的（1000万），开车开吉利（1000万）……
关键时候，才看出来谁是自己人
台湾是中国领土不可分割的一部分，台塑集团（1亿），富士康科技（6000万），台湾鸿海集团（6000万），台湾润泰大润发（5000万）……
关键时候，才懂得血浓于水
支持国企，就是帮助自己，就是发展国家经济
举例：如果大家都买联想，联想将在5年内超越戴尔；如果大家都去苏宁，苏宁将在5年内超越家乐福沃尔玛；如果大家都买吉利，吉利将在5年内超越大众丰田；如果大家都买海尔 ，海尔将在5年内超越飞利浦；如果……你……中国……就……能……
中国人无所不能！！！
我们把那些国外牌子捧红了，养胖了，NND，回头都成了喂不熟的狗了

2008童谣

今年的雪，特别的大，
爸爸还有妈妈，回不了家。

有群坏人，来把人吓，
烧了我的学校，砸我的花。

那个喇嘛，叽里呱啦，
长鼻子的洋人，假装眼瞎。

巴黎铁塔，伦敦警察，
抱火炬的姐姐，人见人夸。

汽笛嘟嘟，铁轨哗哗，
去天堂的列车，还没到达。

龙又翻身，大地垮塌，
教室的瓦砾下，埋了童话。

重重的墙，将老师压，
我们在他身下，都很听话。

没过很久，听到喇叭，
外面有个爷爷，叫我别怕。

叔叔的手，使劲地挖，
解放军的飞机，送我回家。

经过灾难，我已长大，
永远不会忘记，二零零八...

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