ASEAN, West vow to lower tensions<\/p>\n
By Pandaya<\/p>\n
BANGKOK (JP): Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian
\nNations (ASEAN) and their Western allies ended their meeting
\nyesterday, pledging closer collaboration to reduce tensions in
\nthe Asia-Pacific region.<\/p>\n
As usual, no specific agreements were reached in the two-day
\npost-ministerial conference (PMC), which followed the annual
\nASEAN ministerial gathering. Instead, they held a joint press
\nconference.<\/p>\n
They called for more concerted action for the restoration of
\ndemocracy in Myanmar, reduced tension on the Korean peninsula and
\nin the South China Sea, and more concerted support for the
\nlegitimate Cambodian government.<\/p>\n
The officials expressed their support for continued peaceful
\nsettlement to the Bosnian civil war and welcomed the Israel-
\nJordan peace agreement signed in Washington last Monday.<\/p>\n
The ministers from ASEAN -- which groups Thailand, Brunei,
\nIndonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore -- and their
\ndialog partners from the U.S., Canada, European Union, Japan,
\nSouth Korea, New Zealand and Australia also pledged to improve
\ntheir economic cooperation.<\/p>\n
The post ministerial meeting noted the change in the Western
\npowers in their attitude towards the military junta in Myanmar.<\/p>\n
The EU, U.S., Australia and New Zealand, once supporters of
\ntotal isolation of Myanmar, now back ASEAN's "constructive
\nengagement" policy towards that country.<\/p>\n
The two allies increased their pressure for the release of
\nMyanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and an improvement of
\ntheir human rights record.<\/p>\n
"The military regime should heed the democratic aspirations
\nof its people, adopt fundamental political reforms and respect
\nhuman rights," said U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic,
\nBusiness and Agricultural Affairs Joan Spero.<\/p>\n
Arms sale<\/p>\n
The ASEAN and the Western allies support the democratically
\nelected government in Cambodia and seek to isolate the Khmer
\nRouge, which continuously attempt to destabilize the country.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas and
\nMalaysian Foreign Minister Abdullah Badawi denied reports that
\nthe two countries supply arms to the Cambodian government.<\/p>\n
Alatas said what Jakarta offered was military training in
\nIndonesia but never arms, which would amount to a breach of
\nASEAN's policy.<\/p>\n
Badawi said Kuala Lumpur was ready to provide training for the
\nCambodian military personnel because Malaysia has the capacity to
\ndo so.<\/p>\n
Thai newspapers, quoting unspecified documents and unnamed
\nsources, said that the Indonesian Pindad arms manufacturing
\ncompany will sell three million bullets for M-16 riffles, worth
\nUS$378,000, to the Cambodian army.<\/p>\n
Indonesian embassy officials in Bangkok said they knew nothing
\nabout the arms deal, in which the ammunition, reportedly, will be
\nshipped to the Cambodian seaport of Kompong Som in August.<\/p>\n
Alatas reiterated his denial that Jakarta in any way leveraged
\nBangkok's attempt to ban a series of seminars on East Timor prior
\nto the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting that opened on July 22.<\/p>\n
He said the unofficial seminars were the work of a handful
\nEast Timorese dissidents who represented themselves and meant to
\npoliticize the forum for their own personal interests.<\/p>\n
Recovering from a heart surgery recently, Alatas became
\nhostile whenever journalists raised the issue of East Timor, a
\nformer Portuguese colony in the eastern tip of Indonesian Timor
\nisland which integrated itself into Indonesia in 1976 in the wake
\nof civil war in the territory.<\/p>\n
Nuclear<\/p>\n
Japan, the U.S., EU and South Korea urged quick solution to
\nthe nuclear crisis in North Korea and prompt resumption of inter-
\nKorea peace talks.<\/p>\n
"The door is kept open and we wait for a message from North
\nKorea to resume a dialog soon," said South Korea Foreign Minister
\nHan Sung-joo.<\/p>\n
Spero and Singapore Foreign Minister Shunmugam Jayakumar
\nclashed over linkage of human rights with international trade
\nagreements.<\/p>\n
Spero emphasized the importance of linking social issues like
\nworkers rights, environment and labor standards with such
\nagreement.<\/p>\n
Jayakumar rejected the idea, saying that the policy
\nrepresented a protectionist move and would hurt competitiveness
\nof goods from the developing countries.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asean-west-vow-to-lower-tensions-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}