APEC Leaders Must now Add Substance to Vision for Growth

Posted by AsiaViews | Nov 20, 2017 | 0 |

China Daily

Nov 13, 2017

Despite the lackluster global economic recovery, the Asia-Pacific has remained the world’s most economically dynamic region and the main engine of global growth.

However, the world is undergoing major developments, transformation and adjustment, and the Asia-Pacific is no exception. It too faces challenges and destabilizing factors, as well as opportunities.

That is why Saturday’s pledge by the leaders of the 21 economies in the Asia-Pacific to promote innovative and inclusive growth and jointly foster a shared future for the region is both welcome and uplifting.

The shared statement they delivered after their meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam, builds confidence they recognize, as President Xi Jinping said in his speech at the opening session, that the APEC economies have a stake in each other’s success and need to develop a stronger sense of community,

That Xi has attended the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ meeting for five consecutive years demonstrates the importance China attaches to the APEC framework and the contribution it is making to foster a spirit of harmony and practical cooperation in the Asia-Pacific.

In his speech, Xi promised all parties will be better able to share the opportunities of China’s development as it continues to open up, and he called on the APEC economies to enrich their partnerships and join hands to boost interconnected development and achieve common prosperity.

While those countries still pursuing the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal in the wake of the withdrawal by the United States said they had made progress on a new agreement at the meeting, Xi again focused on the bigger picture and a more inclusive vision, saying the APEC economies should “take determined steps toward a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific in line with the agreed road map”.

Pursuing shared, open, innovative, sustained and coordinated development would also foster new comprehensive and cooperative thinking on common challenges and security threats, and help foster the community spirit that would ensure stability and peace in the region. So it is to be hoped the region’s leaders will be able to galvanize efforts to comprehensively and systematically advance the all-encompassing regional trade deal as they agreed.

In a series of separate meetings on the sidelines with the leaders of some of China’s neighbors, Xi sought to build bridges and urged them to make constructive efforts to work with China to resolve their differences and establish healthy and stable ties.

The future of the region will be shaped by the choices made now. To ensure a bright future for all, the Asia-Pacific economies need to deliver on their optimism that they can set a strategic, aspirational and action-oriented vision for the future, by respecting each other, working together for an open and inclusive regional economy, and resolutely committing to settle their disputes and resolve their differences through dialogue.

(source:http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2017-11/13/content_34463876.htm)

About The Author

AsiaViews

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Neigborhood Watch

Subscribe To Newsletter

POINTS TO PONDER

EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

APEC Leaders Must now Add Substance to Vision for Growth