The following is excerpted from the 8 August 2012 edition of The Globe and Mail.
Wednesday marks the 45th anniversary of the founding of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. While internal relations among ASEAN members can be fraught, its voice and role as the chair and gatekeeper to regional institutional membership remains particularly important to Canada.
The Harper government, largely driven by the economic concerns of “swirling trade winds,” has made ASEAN a priority for re-engagement. Recent ministerial visits by Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, Defence Minister Peter MacKay, International Trade Minister Ed Fast and the Prime Minister demonstrate that Ottawa now recognizes that “half of diplomacy is showing up.”
This column is available in its entirety at:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/columnists/does-ottawa-have-staying-power-in-southeast-asia/article4468690/