ABSTRACT
As a result of this perception, both the EU and individual member states have strengthened their relations with East Asian states on both the Track I and the Track II levels. Among the most important achievements are the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) launched in 1996 which, according to Tommy Koh, Singapore’s ambassador-at-large, ‘is as important as APEC and the ASEAN Regional Forum’ (Asiaweek, 4 February 1997). ASEM is supported by the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), a Singapore-based think-tank that aims to boost intellectual and cultural interaction between the two regions. Collaboration between ASEM as the Track I forum and ASEF on the Track II level is paralleled by the ARF/CSCAP structure. Due in part to these activities, the international order of the post-Cold War era approaches a model in which relations between (a) the United States and the European Union, (b) the United States and Asia, and (c) Asia and the European Union form the three major strands.
