Origin of Regional Cooperation in the Asia Pacific

The origin of economic cooperation in the Asia Pacific dates back to 1967–68. In five countries surrounding the Pacific a business group formed a conference series of the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC) in 1967 and an economist group formed another conference series of the Pacific Trade and Development Conference (PAFTAD). They were stimulated by the successful development in Europe and aimed to study and discuss economic cooperation and integration in the Pacific. The first PFTD conference was organized by its proponent Professor Kiyoshi Kojima in Tokyo, and in its second conference in Honolulu, scholars from South Korea, Taiwan, and other Southeast Asian countries participated. Both conference series were hosted by different countries in turn and discussed a variety of cooperation issues in the Pacific, but neither of them had any participation from governments.

In 1978 Japanese Prime Minister Masayaoshi Ohira proposed the “Pacific Basin Community” idea in his inaugural speech, which paved the way for individual governments to participate in the discussion. Interest in the cooperation of Pacific nations spread from businessmen and economists to diplomats, international relations scholars, and journalists. In Japan a study group was formed to give substance to the Ohira proposal and it published a report a year later (Pacific Basin Community Study Group Report 1979). Prime Minister Ohira and his Foreign Minister Saburo Ohkita visited Australia and New Zealand, bringing with them the report. Australian Prime Minister Malcom Fraser and his advisor Sir John Crawford (vice-chancellor of the Australian National University) agreed with Ohira and Ohkita on the promotion of the cooperation of Pacific nations so that a Canberra Seminar on the Pacific Basin Community was organized in 1980. Both Ohkita and Crawford were co-founders of PAFTAD together with Kojima and this personal link helped to start the Pacific nations cooperation, which commenced with a series of Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference (PECC).