Set
on track by the end of 2015 is the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) aiming for a
broader and deeper economic integration amongst the members of the Association
of the South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). AEC is designed to establish ASEAN as single
market and production base with the goal of making it more competitive and
dynamic.
Economic Integration is the process in which
economic borders are abolished among countries and/or participating regions to
give place for a free flow of goods, services and production factors.[1] The
idea behind economic integration is equitable economic development.
President Benigno Aquino said on his statement
at the 24th ASEAN Summit plenary last May 11, 2014, “the 2015 ASEAN Economic Community will be seen as a
culmination of years of forging a high level of integration, cooperation, and
collaboration amongst our economies—efforts aimed at ensuring a mutually
beneficial environment for all members and all peoples of ASEAN. At the same
time, we are still faced with challenges in achieving our collective goal of
inclusive growth and sustained development.”[2]
AEC leads to the efficient use of resources and is
beneficial to the members of the ASEAN according to most of the entrepreneurs. On
its face, AEC is more or less similar with European Union (EU) which is now under
a debt dilemma. On the outset, therefore,
it is inevitable to think of the consequences of AEC such as an eventual debt crisis
like what EU is experiencing and perhaps, constitutional issues as regards
Filipino- first policy might come up as well.
Indeed
challenges are ahead and as much as AEC is ideal, is the Philippines ready for
it? Beneficial as it may be, some Filipinos are worrisome about this regional economic
integration. Be that as it may, AEC’s aim is towards economic development wherein
challenges are unavoidable. Certainly, there is no room for complacency just to
avoid possible difficulties.
EU might be suffering from debt crisis but it does not
follow that when AEC kicks off, ASEAN will likewise walk on the same path. The people need to be open-minded on this kind
of development and shall be united come AEC.
I am not patriotic and I doubt if it’s about that,
nevertheless, I believe that Philippines… Filipinos can and will keep pace with the
competition because when they raise the bar, people just have to gear up and level with
that.
[1] ASEAN and EU Economic
Integration: A comparative Analysis by Nguyen Anh Thu, Vietnam National
University
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