Pacific nations form new links

Although we seem preoccupied with Europe, important new developments are occurring in the Asian Pacific region.

One is the establishment of the Asia Pacific Economic cooperation process. In November, foreign, economic and trade ministers of 12 Pacific Rim nations met for the first time. The U.S. was represented at the meeting, held in Canberra, Australia, by Secretary of State, James Baker, Secretary of Commerce Robert Mosbacher and U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills - indicating the importance of the U.S. role In the Pacific region.

The APEC process represents the first halting steps to improve links among Pacific Rim nations. As stronger regional ties develop throughout the region, Canberra will surely be recognized as the birthplace of Pacific regional cooperation. A second ministerial is scheduled in Singapore next week and a third in Seoul in March.

APEC is a process, not a bureaucracy. Its approach to cooperation is quite different from the 24-nation Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development or the 12 Nation European Community, both of which are driven by bureaucracies.

APEC's work is supported by ministerial staff and, informally, by efforts of a voluntary international group called the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, a private 15-nation group formed in 1980.

PECC includes public and private sector representatives from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand; four English-speaking Pacific nations: the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand; the East Asian nations of Japan, China, Korea and Taiwan; and the Pacific islands represented by the South Pacific Forum. They represent 2 billion people and gross national product of nearly $10 trillion.

This week, for example, a PECC working group on transportation, telecommunications and tourism is meeting here to discuss much-needed new airport capacity and other infrastructure issues in the Pacific region.

Each PECC country has a national committee. The United States' group - U.S./PECC - was established in 1984. It advises the administration, Congress and the U.S.
representative to PECC's headquarters.

U.S./PECC serves as a vehicle to shape the agenda of the APEC process itself and thus can influence legislation and regulations that shape world commerce.

New institutional forms such as PECC/APEC provide opportunities for business and government leaders to address and shape regional and international opportunities offered by the new global economy.

Success in the global marketplace requires fresh approaches by bold executives working with novel institutions.

This is especially true as old international networks become obsolete, traditional trade associations bog down in inertia, and successful strategies from the 1970s and 1980s stall at the starting line. Dusting off a familiar game plan will no longer work.