By Luke Hunt
Leaders of the 10-member ASEAN bloc haven’t been shy in placing the Burmese by-elections, a North Korean Missile launch and Chinese belligerence over the Spratly Islands at the top of their agenda. But behind the scenes, less lofty though highly important issues are being resolved and pushed forward.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told the 20th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Phnom Penh that his country’s chief priority for its year as hosts was the strengthening of mechanisms to ensure regional financial security.
This is widely expected to culminate in a massive doubling of funds under the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) to $240 billion from $120 billion. The CMIM – a multilateral currency swap system – was established in 2002 in response to the 1997/98 financial crisis that close to bankrupted much of the region.
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