Myanmar seen joining ASEAN despite protests<\/p>\n
By Bill Tarrant<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Myanmar will be duly sworn in as a
\nmember of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this
\nyear despite widespread criticism of its human rights record and
\nU.S. opposition, analysts and diplomats said.<\/p>\n
ASEAN will endure a potential rebuke from the United States
\nand Europe over the decision because Myanmar is important to
\nASEAN for strategic and economic reasons, they said.<\/p>\n
Washington last month banned new U.S. investment in Myanmar to
\nexert pressure on the nation's military rulers who hold hundreds
\nof pro-democracy activists in jail and have kept their leader
\nAung San Suu Kyi under virtual house arrest.<\/p>\n
It stepped up pressure last Friday by openly opposing
\nMyanmar's admission to ASEAN.<\/p>\n
But ASEAN, which groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
\nPhilippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, says Myanmar's
\nmembership is important for regional stability.<\/p>\n
\"We have all agreed not to leave Myanmar (Burma) behind,\"
\nMalaysian Foreign Minister Abdullah Badawi said on Sunday.
\n\"Otherwise, the situation may deteriorate to a point that will
\njeopardize the stability of the region.\"<\/p>\n
Southeast Asian nations, who were reluctant hosts to hundreds
\nof thousands of Vietnamese refugees for years, do not want to see
\na similar exodus from Myanmar, analysts said.<\/p>\n
Myanmar, which has long depended on China for arms, has kept a
\ndistance from the outside world for decades.<\/p>\n
\"It's important to have them in before they relapse again in
\nisolationism. Right now they are too dependent on China,\" said
\nJusuf Wanandi, chairman of the supervisory board of Indonesia's
\nCenter for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).<\/p>\n
ASEAN also believes \"constructive engagement\" is the only way
\nto reform Myanmar's military rulers.<\/p>\n
\"You give them a roadmap to help them out politically and
\neconomically,\" Wanandi told Reuters in an interview.<\/p>\n
But western diplomats caution that Myanmar's entry into ASEAN
\ncould strain the group's vaunted unity, undermine the respect it
\nhas earned in the West and compound the problems it faces in
\ncreating an ASEAN Free Trade Area over the next few years.<\/p>\n
It could also lead to a serious rift with the United States,
\nthe largest or second-largest trading partner and foreign
\ninvestor with almost every one of the seven ASEAN nations.<\/p>\n
Myanmar could be admitted as early as July at ASEAN's annual
\nmeeting. That could create a problem for U.S. Secretary of State
\nMadeleine Albright, who is to make her first visit to Southeast
\nAsia during ASEAN's post-meeting conference with major powers.<\/p>\n
ASEAN last year decided to admit Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos as
\nmembers at the same time. Malaysia, chairman at this year's
\nannual meeting, has been adamant that Myanmar should enter ASEAN
\nthis year as the grouping celebrates its 30th anniversary.<\/p>\n
ASEAN Foreign Ministers will meet in Kuala Lumpur on May 31 to
\ndecide whether to admit the three at the July meeting or at an
\ninformal summit in the Malaysian capital in December or later.<\/p>\n
ASEAN officials and Western diplomats say there is little
\nchance the admission will be postponed.<\/p>\n
Some analysts have suggested that political and economic
\ninstability in Cambodia could allow the group to postpone
\nMyanmar's admission while saving face.<\/p>\n
But Wanandi said the need by Cambodia and Myanmar to develop
\ntheir economies was all the more reason to admit them now.<\/p>\n
\"Our reasoning is opposite,\" Wanandi said. \"If we do not make
\nCambodia a member we will never have a commitment to helping them
\nout. That mess they are in would be better alleviated if they're
\nin than if they're out.\"<\/p>\n
ASEAN officials say the group would withstand pressure from
\nthe United States, which strongly backed ASEAN from its inception
\nas an anti-communist Southeast Asian bulwark during the Vietnam
\nwar<\/p>\n
\"We don't expect any basic consequences from the decision,\"
\nWanandi said. \"Of course we have to take in stride the criticism
\nfrom Congress, the administration and public opinion.\"<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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