Hard on the heels of a landmark open skies pact between the US and Singapore, neighbouring Malaysia is poised to sign a similar deal - giving Washington a significant boost in cracking the tough nut of protectionism that exists in Asia-Pacific.
The US hopes the breakthroughs will have a knock-on effect with other Asian nations. But the prospect of duplicating the successful European 'divide-and-rule' policy is likely to remain a distant one. The major markets of Japan, South Korea and China are likely to prove the toughest, if not near impossible, nuts to crack.
January's signing of the Singapore-US open skies deal, which lifted all restrictions on frequency, destinations and aircraft size, comes as no surprise; Singapore is Asia's most liberal air market.
The two have now agreed on fifth freedom rights that allow their carriers to pick up passengers bound for third countries, but the ability of US operators to take advantage will remain largely hostage to restrictions imposed by third countries.
Malaysia's transport minister Ling Liong Sik expects to sign a similar pact with the US within two months. 'The ministry does not foresee any hitches in the agreement as most of the problems between both sides have been ironed out,' says Ling.
The US launched its renewed liberalisation offensive in Asia late last year and next on its agenda is Taiwan, with talks on a revised bilateral scheduled for Washington at the end of February. There appears to be a good chance of a deal being struck.
According to sources at the Taiwanese Transport Ministry, the US has already agreed to ease restrictions on the number of destinations available to Taiwanese airlines after Taipei allowed Federal Express to open a round-the-clock regional trans-shipment centre at the city's Chiang Kai-shek International Airport.
US negotiators are also due to start negotiations with Brunei, and they say New Zealand is another country on their early agenda.
Richard Stirland, director general of the Manila-based Orient Airlines Association, believes that the Singapore deal will boost US efforts to forge similar agreements with smaller countries within Asia, but adds that larger nations such as the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia are likely to remain reluctant.
'Obviously the bigger the country, the more the government and its airlines are interested in some degree of control. The conclusion is that this agreement will remain hostage to the restrictive regulatory environment prevailing in Asia,' says Stirland.
Source: Airline Business
