In particular, it would be be very difficult to reconcile an attempted conversion of APEC into a legally binding form of economic co-operation with the wishes of ASEAN. ASEAN's terms of participation in APEC are stated clearly in the 1990 Kuching Consensus(Box 1). These terms are, in turn, consistent with the consensus reached at APEC I in 1989 and have been incorporated in the 1991 Seoul APEC Declaration. These guiding principles of APEC emphasize that this new experiment in co-operatlon should evolve according to the model of voluntary association which ASEAN has pioneered In this region. In view of ASEAN s central role In the Asia Pacific. their own record of cohesion, combined with the rapid evolution of APEC to date. their wish for an open. voluntary form of co operation deserves to be respected. (Ariff, 1995; Soesastro, 1994).