Security & Strategic Review October 2010 (ISSN 1741-4202)

Peruvian president Alan Garcí­a has launched a new, slimmed-down but more ambitious version of the 'Pacific Arc' initiative he championed four years ago. He is proposing what he describes as an 'in-depth integration agreement' with Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Panama and an alternative to the 'doomed' existing integration mechanisms. As with his previous initiative, Garcí­a is seeking partners among the governments that are closest to the US. Brazil, meanwhile has signalled that it intends to press ahead with Mercosur (and with other 'variable geometry' initiatives).