MANILA -- As we watch with interest the expansion of the European Union, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus Three (China, South Korea and Japan) continues to make its own progress toward regional economic integration. Needless to say, there is a long way to go. But the question is no longer whether the region should integrate, but rather when, how quickly and in what areas.
It has been nearly seven years since a financial crisis struck the region. Despite a rapid recovery, momentum toward increased integration has never been stronger. The Asian crisis provided impetus to address major structural weaknesses in regional economies -- especially in the financial and corporate sectors. It also prompted economies in the region to take historic initiatives in regional monetary and financial integration to enhance resilience to external shocks. And clearly the region intends to move forward in this direction.
ASEAN+3's postcrisis initiatives thus far fall into three broad categories: The first consists of peer review and policy dialogues under the ASEAN+3 Informal Policy Dialogue. The second consists of more technical and substantive actions -- such as currency-reserve sharing under the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI). Finally, in the area of capital-market development, we have the Asian Bond Market Initiative.