Your Excellency, Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi,

On behalf of the Philippine delegation, I wish to thank the Japanese government for the efficient and effective preparations for this event. The extent to which Japan has worked to realize this Ministerial Meeting convinces me our discussions today on the Initiative for Development in East Asia will be both excellent and productive.
 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The strength of the Philippines-Japan partnership may readily be seen in the priority Japan has always given to the Philippines in its Official Development Assistance Program or ODA. The Philippines has always been one of the top recipients of Japan's ODA program.

Beyond the cumulative amount of commitment, however, we are proud of the extensive scope of this cooperation. I am pleased to note that developing human resources is becoming a primary component of our bilateral cooperation.

I was taught it is always better to teach people how to fish-instead of simply giving them fish. The importance of equipping workers with technology and skills cannot be overemphasized, particularly in today's increasingly competitive, globalized market. Thus, the Philippines shall continue to initiate ODA projects that will raise the living standards of Filipinos-particularly the people of our countryside, especially on Mindanao Island, where the path to peace should be paved with greater economic opportunities for ordinary people.
 

The East Asian Experience in Development

In recent times, many have claimed that the East Asian "miracle" of development was a myth. The "flying geese phenomenon' was used to describe our region's pattern of economic growth-a theory formulated by the Japanese economist Akamatsu in the 1930s.

This phenomenon created an international production cycle in which leader countries passed on their patterns of production to follower countries, as the former's capital deepened, their technological capabilities increased, and their workers' skills and wages improved.

In addition, East Asia also benefited from cross investments into ASEAN by industrialized countries outside the region and the increased trading mechanisms between and among them. Japan's development aid to ASEAN countries had in large measure supported their national development efforts. For almost four decades, these processes nurtured East Asia's development.

The 1997 Asian financial crisis ended East Asia's period of high growth. Yet, this crisis was also the single catalytic event that impelled the East Asian countries to develop stronger mechanisms of cooperation and mutual help.

The adoption in Manila of the Joint Statement on East Asia Cooperation in November 1999; the Chiang-Mai Initiative; the currency swap arrangements among certain East Asian countries; and the formalization of the ASEAN Plus Three Process-these are but a few of the positive results of the East Asian financial crisis.
 

External Developments and Domestic Trends

The impact of external development on domestic trends is becoming not only stronger, but also pervasive. Domestic and international markets in goods, services, capital, and even labor continue to converge, forcing developing and developed countries alike to merge their domestic and external economic policies into a comprehensive growth strategy.

As nations, we have the choice of coordinating our policies among ourselves-or of meeting the risks of globalization alone.

We in the Philippines recognize that, in our fight to reduce and alleviate poverty, we cannot proceed alone. The cooperation of the international community is an important component of our anti-poverty program.

Developing countries today are aided in their development efforts by the growth of IT technologies-making the catching-up process with developed countries shorter. Using the same "flying-geese" pattern, Japan will lead the shifts to the next stages of East Asia development. By investing in technology and human resources, it is now possible for developing economies to leap-frog intermediate stages of growth.
 

More Organic and Expanded Regional Economic Integration

At the Boao Forum in China this April, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi pointed out that the strategic challenge for Japan is "to bind together our individual effort to create a more organic and expanded regional economic integration."

At the Future of Asia Conference last year, Japanese Senior Foreign Affairs Vice-Minister Seiken Sugiura said we should cultivate our ties like mangrove habitats, which abound in Southeast Asia. A mangrove tree, as you know, does not have a single trunk, but has a large number of supporting pillars, offering a natural habitat for both plants and animals.

I agree with Vice-Minister Sugiura that ASEAN should behave like mangrove habitats, fostering multiple linkages in such areas as finance, energy, environment, and peace and security.
 

We are already witnessing initiatives that interlock with one another. For example, this year, the original members of ASEAN inaugurated their Free Trade Area (AFTA). This free trade area has lowered tariffs among its economies even further, and accelerated the harmonization of standards, among others. At the same time, ASEAN and China have agreed on setting up their own free trade area-making a market that is one-third the size of humanity.

The Philippines welcomes Japan's idea of replicating the Japan-Singapore Economic Partnership Agreement or EPA with other members of ASEAN. We also note-with great Interest--a feasibility study being conducted on establishing a Japan-ASEAN FTA. An FTA between Japan and the Republic of Korea is also being advocated. In view of the rapid progress of developments, it may even be possible to have an FTA between Japan and China in the future.

The aim of these networks is not just to create a regional market to rival those of the European Union, or the future Free Trade Area of the Americas. These networks signify the accelerated evolution of a regional community. As our region fulfills the prediction that it would become the hub of greatest growth this century, our multiple linkages can become the basis for a comprehensive regional grouping, similar to the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE), the African Union, and the Organization of American States (OAS).

To realize this community, it is important that East Asia directs its attention as well to political, security, environmental, and sociocultural linkages. After all, a strong economy is not an end in itself. People are not atomistic parts of an economy, floating free of social and cultural ties.

The true measure of a successful economy is not the growth statistics, but how much its dynamism has enhanced the fundamental values of society. Our wealth and our careers are but part of our totalities, for we also cherish family and community. By expanding our ties to cover all areas of human interaction, we shall ensure not only prosperity, but also peace and harmony for our peoples.

And we may regard this meeting then, Madame Chairman, as one of the building blocks of such a regional community.

Thank you.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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