ShareThisBy ARTHUR I. CYRFriday, November 24, 2006The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit just concluded in Hanoi Vietnam was filled with symbolism _ and irony _ for the United States.Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld went to Vietnam earlier as a sort of advance man for President Bush. The visit included a parade, accompanied by playing the U.S. national anthem. Parallels are often drawn between Rumsfeld's dictatorial demeanor and the similar style of Vietnam War Defense Secretary Robert McNamara. Bush went from the summit to Indonesia to meet with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Four decades ago, fears of communist success in Indonesia were one important reason for drastic American escalation of the Vietnam War.For years after Hanoi's military victory in 1975, Vietnam was unable to turn the corner from political revolution to economic development. While the economic "tigers" of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan surged, Vietnam failed to spur development. Vietnam did not join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations until 1995, nearly three decades after the creation of that regional development organization.The summit, however, has provided Vietnam economic visibility in a regional forum of central importance. APEC participants reached agreement to continue to seek economic liberalization among the partners, and to try to restart the Doha round of the World Trade Organization. Doha was derailed by disagreements on agriculture, where APEC members have considerable clout on both sides of the development divide.Beyond immediate economic policy considerations, the summit has also been a success. There was strong commitment to multilateralism and the vital importance of working with allies and through established regional and global institutions. The Bush administration came into office trumpeting a testament of unilateralism. After 9/11 President Bush seemed to grow ever more strident in determination to go it alone, reminding other leaders that they were either "with us or against us." There was none of the earlier Bush tough-guy talk in Hanoi.The summiteers not only restated support of long-term efforts toward freer trade, they also addressed military security, calling on North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons development and return to six-party talks. Representatives of generally capitalist economies, meeting in a principal city of one of the few remaining communist political systems, collectively called on the secluded leaders of another communist state to cease this very threatening military activity.The Pacific region generally lacks the complex established network of economic and military regional organizations that define relationships in the Atlantic region. For this reason, the APEC summit is especially significant. Partners in this Asia organization have proven willing to expand their reach to include cooperation with explicitly military dimensions.For decades, Cold War division defined relationships among nations. Today, economic incentives and related self-interest have dramatically undermined earlier ideological intensities.(Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College in Wisconsin and author of "After the Cold War" (Macmillan/Palgrave and NYU Press). He can be reached at acyr(at)carthage.edu.)
Asian economic summit displays a world of progress
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