Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-06-12-Speech-2-171"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20010612.9.2-171"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, the ASEM process has a twin role, politically speaking. It offers the Asian and European government leaders the opportunity of consulting each other every two years on truly strategic problems. And it is precisely this fixed regular forum that can have an inhibiting effect on aggressive, unilateral action taken by one of the ASEM participants.
That brings us to the real fear which various Asian States experience within the ASEM process: that of the Chinese pursuit of regional supremacy, including territorial demands. A case in point is the on-going controversy regarding Beijing’s claim of sovereignty over the South China Sea.
Via multilateral forums, such as the ASEM process, those Asian countries hope to enhance, and mainly stabilise, existing bilateral relations with China. It is therefore no wonder that these smaller Asian States advocate a higher level of commitment by the 15 EU Member States to the ASEM process.
I should like to add two minor observations regarding this resolution. The first one concerns recital K, in which democratic Japan receives the very dubious honour of being blamed for an unprecedented, post-war political crisis and in which a very harsh judgment is passed on the country’s political establishment. On account of Asian pride, and not just that of the Japanese, such an arrogant Western judgment is nothing short of a slap in the face. From this angle, the European Parliament makes anything but a constructive contribution to the ASEM process.
In addition, various other Asian ASEM Members probably deal with much more serious domestic problems than that in this day and age. The ever more strife-torn Indonesian archipelago is a case in point.
All in all, due to political imbalance and careless use of language, recital K is completely inappropriate.
Finally, I welcome Paragraphs 16 and 17 of the draft resolution, in which an appeal is made to the European Council and Commission, as well as to the other ASEM Members, for an Asian expansion of ASEM parallel to the approaching European enlargement, namely the forthcoming accession of the candidate countries to the Union. Three countries are mentioned in this connection: India, Australia and New Zealand. However, honourable European intentions collide here with Asian realities, or rather national sensitivities. In Asian eyes, Australia and New Zealand are still seen as foreign bodies. In short, their ASEM membership will require the necessary time and, probably, Europe’s power of persuasion. As far as India is concerned, the People’s Republic of China is not what one would call hospitable. From that point of view, national barriers still need to be lifted. Not only – as is currently so evident – in the EU’s enlargement process, but also in ASEM. However, when good intentions are coupled with political action to match, we are certain to make headway in Europe and Asia, even jointly, in fact."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples