THE other day a news headline flashed across the television screen: “Greek Fighter Jet Crashes in Spain Killing 8 French Military.” With my warped sense of humor, I was immediately reminded of one of those old jokes that starts something like “A priest, a politician and a penguin walk into a bar together and . . .”
Of course it is not a joke as the Greek military jet, part of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) training exercise, crashed at a military airbase in southeastern Spain killing the two pilots and eight French ground personnel.
The exercise program includes 750 participants from nine countries working and training together to “improve multi-national tactical air operations.”
The irony of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany participating in a joint military training exercise is truly astonishing considering that these three nations have been at war one time or another for most of the last two hundred years. The other European countries involved–Italy, Spain, Belgium, Denmark and Greece–were either allies of the first three or were sites of major battlegrounds and war dead cemeteries. Throw in the participation of the United States and you have the classic example of ‘strange bedfellows.’
Then the question rises, just exactly who is the enemy that these nations are preparing to fight against?
Military preparedness is the obligation of every nation in a global atmosphere of mutual distrust and caution. Historically though, most nations’ armies have been used for the purpose of conquest rather than defense. In reality, most nations put on the defensive by an invading force have been conquered at least temporarily. And the invasion has always been in support of economic gains either directly or through added territory.
But this is the 21st century and while the newspaper headlines are full of war and rumors of war, the world is actually in the midst of the most peaceful era in human history based on the number of war-related deaths.
Although never accurately attributed to any one person, the idea that “When goods don’t cross borders, soldiers will” describes the basic relations between nations. Each nation needs the other. None can fully prosper because none are fully self-sufficient.
In his recent Businessmirror column, former Senator Manny B. Villar wrote this; “There is no argument that integration of the economies of the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will create huge opportunities and boost growth in the region.” However, Sen. Villar also cautioned: “There are apprehensions over the negative impact of Asean economic integration on different sectors of the Philippine economy”.
The concern is that Asean Integration is not going to provide equal opportunities for all nations in the region. Villar writes, “I won’t dwell on technicalities, but I would like to call for fairness.” And therein lies the problem.
Philippine rice producers are going to have a difficult time competing with Vietnam and Thailand. Yet Filipino banks should be easily able to counter the Asean banks that will come to the Philippines. Cambodia and Myanmar are very worried about competing with Filipino workers who may compete for jobs across the region as integration provides more cross-border employment. Local consumer goods manufacturers are eager to be more able to easier sell their products abroad.
Singapore has pledged S$50 million to help Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam integrate better into the coming integration. Yet many younger Singaporeans agree with this sentiment from a political science honors student at the National University of Singapore: “We might have even more of an influx of foreigners, which Singaporeans are already complaining about. Our neighbors’ emergence might be a threat to our existence.”
Asean integration is not going to be fair or equal for any country. However, the size, economic strength, and strategic importance of the Asean region requires that these nations work together not unlike the Nato military trading exercise.
If the Philippines, given its strong economic fundamentals including a sound banking system, good government financials and quality workforce, cannot gain a competitive advantage from the increased economic opportunities, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
Complaining about losing the game because of a bad referee is for losers. Winners score enough points to win regardless of any bad calls. Sen. Villar offers, “We cannot just let the liberalization program to work against us again, just as it did to our industries decades ago.”
That is the bottom line.
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1 comment
Singapore is starting to sound like that mousy rich accountant who is afraid of the cops as well as his gangster clients.