Bangkok Summit historic for Southeast Asia<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The upcoming summit of the Association of
\nSoutheast Asian Nations in Bangkok will unite the seven ASEAN
\nleaders with their counterparts from the other three non-ASEAN
\ncountries in the region.<\/p>\n
Thailand's Ambassador to Indonesia, Kasit Pirornya, said
\nyesterday that the leaders of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar have
\nconfirmed their attendance, either as guest or observer, at the
\nDec. 14-15 summit in Bangkok.<\/p>\n
This will be the first time that the leaders of all 10
\nSoutheast Asian countries, some of which have been locked in
\nconfrontation in the past, will be gathered in one forum.<\/p>\n
The prime minister of Papua New Guinea, which has observer
\nstatus despite being outside of Southeast Asia proper, will be
\ntaking part in the summit, the ambassador said.<\/p>\n
Anticipating the three in the organization before the turn of
\nthe century, the summit has picked as its provisional theme,
\n\"Towards One Southeast Asia\", Kasit said.<\/p>\n
This will be the fifth ASEAN summit since its founding in
\n1967. The group's founding members were Indonesia, Malaysia, the
\nPhilippines, Singapore and Thailand. Brunei joined in 1984 and
\nVietnam became its seventh member last July.<\/p>\n
The ASEAN leaders are expected to have an audience with the
\nThai King. They will issue a declaration at the end of the
\nsummit.<\/p>\n
Kasit said there will be a separate meeting between the seven
\nASEAN leaders and their counterparts from Cambodia, Laos and
\nMyanmar on Dec. 15.<\/p>\n
He recalled that Laos, which has an observer status, has
\nalready stated that it intends to formally apply for ASEAN
\nmembership in 1997. Cambodia, which has guest status, said it
\nplans to apply within a year or two. Myanmar has applied for an
\nobserver status and the application is currently being
\nconsidered.<\/p>\n
While there is no agreement on when an ASEAN-10 will be
\nrealized, most officials in the region are optimistic that it
\nwill happen before the turn of the century.<\/p>\n
Common plan<\/p>\n
To speed up the realization, Thailand as the host nation of
\nthe summit, has proposed a common plan in which the wealthier
\nASEAN members provide financial assistance to Vietnam, Cambodia,
\nLaos and Myanmar so that their economies can integrate faster
\nwith the rest of ASEAN, Kasit said.<\/p>\n
Besides the expansion of ASEAN membership, the ASEAN leaders
\nare also expected to discuss the proposal to speed up the
\nestablishment of an ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) ahead of the
\ncurrently agreed deadline of 2003. Brunei has proposed that the
\ndeadline be moved forward to 2000.<\/p>\n
Kasit said the ASEAN Summit, to be held at the Royal Orchid
\nSheraton, will be preceded by a series of ministerial and senior
\nofficials meetings.<\/p>\n
ASEAN foreign ministers will meet on Dec. 11 and at the same
\ntime, their economic ministers will also hold a separate meeting.
\nThe foreign and economic ministers will have a joint meeting on
\nDec. 12. Senior officials will begin their meeting on Dec. 6.<\/p>\n
Kasit said the summit will be held at the same time that a
\nseries of major events are taking place in Thailand.<\/p>\n
These include the Southeast Asia Games in the northern
\nThailand city of Chiang Mai, the Princess Congress about
\nscientific, technological and environment issues, and the closing
\nof the Worldtech '95 exhibition of industrial and agricultural
\nproducts in Nakhon Ratchasima, an event in which Indonesia is
\nalso taking part.<\/p>\n
Asked whether the expected tough competition between Indonesia
\nand Thailand for the overall SEA Games title will have any impact
\non the summit proceedings, Kasit responded with just one word:
\n\"No.\"<\/p>\n
Kasit also explained that the Thai embassy and the Indonesian
\ngovernment are currently working out a new schedule for the visit
\nof Thai Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-Archa.<\/p>\n
The original visit last week was canceled because of a major
\nflood in Thailand that required the prime minister's attention.<\/p>\n
Kasit said Banharn will be meeting with President Soeharto at
\nthe United Nations' anniversary commemoration in New York next
\nmonth to finalize the date of the prime minister's visit.<\/p>\n
He added that the visit will take place before the ASEAN
\nsummit. (emb)<\/p>",
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