Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - ASEAN unityand economic integration are the key factors for its members as trade tensionsbetween the United States and China escalate, participants in a panel on thegeopolitics of trade agreed at a session of the World Economic Forum on ASEAN(WEF ASEAN).

They also called on ASEAN to strengthencollaborative resilience to navigate the adversarial climate caused byfractures between the world’s two largest economies.

“We need to start taking the opportunity ofwhat was already built several years ago and that is ASEAN,” said IgnatiusDarell Leiking, Minister of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia, as hespoke on a panel called ‘Trade in Trouble: Navigating Geo-Economic Tensions’.

“Work as a single ASEAN, to trade betweenourselves and make it seamless between ourselves. That could reduce the impactthat is forthcoming because of this tariff war,” he concluded.

Alan Bollard, executive director of theAPEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Secretariat, Singapore, said it wasunclear how far relations might deteriorate, given the direction of globaltrade.

“If there is 60 billion USD worth of tradeinto the US with a 25 percent tariff and vice versa, and the threat of 200billion USD worth of trade under a tariff of that sort, I don’t know at whatpoint trade friction becomes trade war,” he said.

“But it doesn’t look good at all.”

Yasuo Tanabe, senior vice-president andsenior corporate officer at Hitachi, Japan, said there are solutions.

“Back in the 70s and 80s we were oftenpressured by the US and we negotiated on many issues in almost all sectors,” hesaid, adding that the solutions included both voluntary export restraint andimport expansion, which helped calm trade stresses.

Beyond boosting intra-ASEAN trade to helpprotect the bloc from global disruption, Bollard pointed out that currentcircumstances have seen other countries step up to take the lead in major tradeagreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and may encourageothers to follow suit.

“We are going through a period where we areseeing a bipolar world move into a multipolar one. Who would have thought thatJapan would have taken leadership of the TPP? I never thought that would havehappened and it has. Is it possible that India could do the same thing onRCEP?” he asked, referring to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

Acknowledging the uncertainty about whetherexisting pressures will be short, medium or long term, Victor L L Chu, chairmanand chief executive officer of First Eastern Investment Group, Hong Kong SAR,China, said there were also opportunities within.

“If you look at the silver lining, it is anopportunity for us to look at our competitive advantages,” said Chu, “Hong Kongand ASEAN signed a free trade agreement last November and that is veryinteresting. Hong Kong wants to be more than a China bridge; we want to be atthe centre of Asia looking at a closer relationship with Japan, with ASEAN,while at the same time contributing to China’s road and bridge initiative.”

Malaysian Minister of International Tradeand Industry Ignatius Darell Leiking warned there was no time to waste andASEAN leaders must embrace the reality that a solution is needed now, and fromwithin.

“ASEAN negotiators should have in theirmind that the intention is to see their neighbours prosper. If all ourneighbours prosper together whereby we help each other, provide input into howto develop our countries, in an equal way,” he said.

“Then we’ll be alright.”-VNS/VNA