Asian Unity and Disunity: Impressions and Reflections

WI-lEN DR. CARLOS P. ROMULO VISITED l)AKISTAN IN THE EARLY spring of 1965, this writer-as a Fulbright Lecturer stationed there-had the opportunity and pleasure of meeting him and listening to his talk at the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs, Karachi. A presidential adviser on for· eign affairs and head of the most influential university in the Philippines with a long, distinguished experience in world diplomacy and intellectual enterprise behind him, Dr. Romulo's remarks naturally carried a great deal of weight. No one, indeed, could fail to be directly impressed by his personal charm and eloquence, in the first place. Among the things that struck me as most significant (although not unexpected under the circumstances) was his emphasis and apparent faith in the unity between Asian states. We are all familiar with the long tacitly understood, if not fully accepted, allegation that "there is no Asia" as a unit. Hence it was quite natural, especially in the South Asian context at the time (as Dr. Romulo traveled through the general area), that many challenging questions were asked by the audience and some of them wete not very easy to answer. Yet, even on the ticklish point of a common policy on China (in view of the very apparent difference then obtaining between the Philippines and Pakistan), Dr. Romulo did not shrink in his stand. Nor did the skepticism seem to dampen his spirit or weaken his argument. Is there, therefore, a real chance for, or trend toward, such an eventuality? This question, as a matter of fact, had been ringing in my mind even before I heard Dr. Romulo, and I had also resolved from the very beginning of my Fulbright year ( 1964-65 ) to learn as much as possible in this regard while I had first-hand opportunities to do so-both inside the various major regions of the continent itself and from neighboring areas. On the whole, the immediate emotional and mental milieu of Asia (re-experienced in my case) was most conducive to such an undertaking, as expected. But this very immediacy also appeared to be giving the local observer a necessary "wrapped-up" feeling or outlook, if not otherwise compensated. My trip around the world in the same process, especially through the supposedly related or similar areas, such as North Africa and South America, proved to be just the needed compensation. And yet, the net result of my observations and studies has tended to leave me in skepticism, or at least a puzzlement of which the end is not at all in sight.1