I refer to the letter “Time for dialogue to
take centrestage in Middle East” (July 20). It is indeed a waste that
once-thriving civilisations that hail from the region, such as the Mesopotamia
and Ottoman, have all but disappeared.
Many relics have been destroyed in the
war-ravaged region. It will be a long time before its past glory is restored.
The region has been blessed with oil. Perhaps that has been its greatest curse.
The clamour for the fossil resource beneath
its sands assures its relevance to world geopolitics. Too many powers have cast
their eyes over the resource and have come and gone, miring the region in
sectarian conflicts.
If only all parties could put aside their
differences and see that only with peace will the Middle East restore its
glory. However well endowed a country is, no resource is infinite.
While oil still gushes from their wells,
countries there should use this scarce resource, perhaps collectively, as a
means to a better end. Disunity only plays to external parties’ interests. No
country should be a pawn on someone’s chessboard.
It is senseless that while the region feeds
the world with oil, its other chief exports are refugees escaping their
homelands. Perhaps we could draw lessons from the region.
Until recently, the Association of South-east
Asian Nations (Asean) had been a successful bloc. The region has attracted
interest from near and far.
As the South China Sea is believed to be rich
in natural gas and oil, the clamour for these resources will surely come, under
whatever pretext.
Countries must beware of falling into the
same trap of looking after their own interests for short-term gains and
disregarding the region’s interests.
The Asean Economic Community has barely taken
off; its 625 million inhabitants have a good chance of improving their lot.
With economic prosperity, the region will thrive. Asia is also rising. Asean
and the powers in Asia make up half of the world’s population. This represents
a relatively untapped market for goods and services. It is all too enticing.
All parties should thus be circumspect when
facing disputes among countries. Mistrust breeds misunderstanding. Through
dialogues and exchanges, we could understand one another better. It is time to
shed our sleepy backwater past.
United, we could avert the fate of the Middle
East from befalling us. We are capable of charting our collective destiny. It
would be silly of us to be divided and ruled again.
Lee Teck Chuan
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