Colombo Plan And Southeast Asia Regional Cooperation

The Colombo Plan is one of the important early regional cooperations in Southeast Asia and the longest regional cooperation in Asia.It has now been transformed into a formal international organization that continues to play a role in Asian regional cooperation organizations.To deepen its research,especially the situation in the past 20 years(1949-1967)before the establishment of ASEAN,it will help us understand more deeply the historical development context of early regional cooperation in Southeast Asia and its impact on regional cooperation in Asia.The Colombo plan originated from the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers'Meeting held in Colombo in January 1950.The purpose of the meeting was to study the promotion of global economic growth through multilateral trade so as to maintain the political stability in Southeast Asia and South Asia.Around 1950,the Great Britain lost its strength due to the Second World War and tried to maintain its position as a major power by strengthening Commonwealth regional cooperation in Asia;Australia's strength after the Second World War and its realization that its future development will be tied to the Asia region and intends to strengthen its influence in Asia.In addition to the outbreak of the Cold War,communism began to spread in Southeast Asia and South Asia.Therefore,the British and Australian countries have promoted Colombo's plan to strengthen economic development and cooperation in Southeast Asia and South Asia to achieve its goal of maintaining its status and anti-communism.As the financial strength of the Commonwealth countries alone cannot compete with the powerful Soviet Union and New China,the United States joined the Colombo plan at the request of the United Kingdom,Australia,and other countries,injecting economic vitality into the Colombo plan and making the Colombo plan a global containment strategy.An important link in Southeast Asia and South Asia.At that time,the economies in Southeast Asia and South Asia were exhausted and unprepared,nationalism arose,and the national independence movement was surging.The economic development purpose of the Colombo plan,its low political nature,and its low binding force made the countries in the region happy.accept.The active interactions inside and outside gave the Colombo plan life.The specific historical background also gave the Colombo plan a unique mechanism for setting and operating principles.Colombo plans to set up institutions not only in small quantities but also in a loosely organized organization.The main institutions are the Colombo Plan Consultative Committee,the Technical Cooperation Council and the Technical Assistance Office.The Committee of the Consultative Council has no executive power or decision power,but it provides a very influential forum for facilitating bilateral aid through discussions and consultations.Another job is to prepare and publish an annual report representative,that is,the work review and progress report of the Colombo Plan.The Technical Cooperation Council and the Technical Assistance Office are similar to the Consultative Committee in terms of their organizational structure.They have no actual power and only serve as a communication,coordination,or record-keeping function for the planned economic and assistance work in Colombo.Bilateral interaction is the main principle of the operation of the Colombo plan.It enables both donors and recipients to flexibly match their resources and needs.The United States had attempted to use the Sprint plan and the Atomic Energy Research and Training Center to transform the Colombo Plan into a formal regional organization operating on the basis of multilateralism.However,it was met with internal and external oppositions including Asian countries and ended in failure.Colombo plans to leave a profound historical and normative significance to the Southeast Asian region during its nearly 20 years of early development.It has enabled Southeast Asia and South Asia as a whole to continue to engage in dialogue and interaction with major foreign countries,thus building their own regional structure,regional characteristics,and behavioral norms in Southeast Asia and South Asia,and deepening internal regional recognition through Australia,the United States,and New Zealand.Cooperation with Canada and other countries in the Pacific Ocean has created a larger regional identity—the "Pacific region" or "Asia-Pacific region." The rise of cross-regional cooperation has given rise to the willingness of regional leaders with relatively powerful countries to create regional leadership.In the Colombo plan,Indonesia and India have embarked on the trial grounds of this regional leader by virtue of their own conditions;in addition,the successful implementation of the Colombo plan is a demonstration of regional demand in Southeast Asia and South Asia.This includes political and economic needs,especially In economic terms,the co-existence of the Colombo plan and the Asia-European Commission(ECAFE)has produced a complementary effect.The Colombo plan has played a significant role in the operation of the Mekong River development mechanism under the guidance of the Asia-Pacific Economic Commission.In terms of specifications,the series of norms that Colombo planned to form became an important source of Asian forms.It has developed a series of "soft systems" with Asian characteristics,informal and consensus decision-making,the principle of bilateral interaction formed under multilateral frameworkism,and the principle of inclusiveness and equality.In addition,the Colombo plan has also developed the principle of practical issues for regional cooperation,focusing the functions of regional cooperation on economic cooperation,and high-political issues have become taboos in the discussion topics of various countries.This has filled the Colombo plan with Asia.Features.Based on the existing researches,this paper combines the existing archives and literature,and sorts out the background of the origins of the Colombo Plan from 1949 to 1967,and analyzes the establishment and development of its mechanism,and then derives the historical and normative significance of the Colombo plan.It highlights its importance in early regional cooperation in Southeast Asia.