U.S. says not ready to accede to ASEAN non-aggression pact<\/p>\n
P. Parameswaran, Agence France-Presse\/Washington<\/p>\n
The United States said it has no plans to sign a non-aggression
\ntreaty with Southeast Asia even though other big powers Russia,
\nChina and India have become signatories to underscore security
\ncommitment to the region.<\/p>\n
Australia, a key U.S. ally, has also agreed to accede to the
\nAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations Treaty of Amity and
\nCooperation, abandoning Canberra's option to launch preemptive
\nmilitary strikes against terrorist bases in the region.<\/p>\n
The three-decade old treaty bans signatories from using
\nviolence to settle conflicts in the region, a key policy of
\nASEAN, which was established during the height of the Cold War.<\/p>\n
But the United States is reluctant to sign the treaty, which
\nis also a precondition laid down by ASEAN for those wanting to
\nparticipate in an inaugural East Asian Summit it would hold in
\nDecember.<\/p>\n
\"We have a very active and productive dialog with ASEAN on a
\nfull range of issues,\" a State Department official said.<\/p>\n
\"Although we have discussed the treaty in the past, we have no
\ncurrent plans to sign the agreement,\" he told AFP.<\/p>\n
The official did not say why Washington is reluctant to ink
\nthe pact but some experts believe it is due to bureaucratic
\nrather than strategic reasons.<\/p>\n
The issue goes back to President Ronald Reagan's days, when
\nduring the Cold War there was a sense that there should be no
\nrestrictions on the free movement of U.S. forces, particularly
\nthe navy, in East Asia, according to Marvin Ott, a professor at
\nNational War College in the National Defense University in
\nWashington.<\/p>\n
\"I think what we are now seeing is pure bureaucratic inertia
\ndue to past attitude plus an American security bureaucracy
\nsaddled with many other things. There is, in fact, no strategic
\nreason why the United States should not sign the treaty,\" he told
\nAFP, speaking in a personal capacity.<\/p>\n
ASEAN leaders have appealed to the United States on several
\noccasions to sign on the dotted line to reaffirm its political
\nand security commitment to the region.<\/p>\n
Last month at the sidelines of the United Nations, Abdullah
\nAhmad Badawi, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, the host of this
\nyear's ASEAN Summit, said: \"We would like to invite the United
\nStates to consider acceding to the Treaty of Amity and
\nCooperation (as) such a step would indeed serve as a symbol of
\npolitical commitment to the region by the United States.\"<\/p>\n
The treaty \"is a very important and key document in the life
\nof ASEAN,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Aside from China, Russia and India, the other treaty
\nsignatories are Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Pakistan.<\/p>\n
Australia is to do the same in December this year ahead of
\ntaking its seat at the first East Asian summit in Kuala Lumpur
\ntogether with ASEAN's 10 members Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia,
\nMalaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
\nVietnam, as well as Japan, South Korea, China, India and New
\nZealand.<\/p>\n
Australia has traditionally not favored signing the treaty but
\ndecided to accede to it after ASEAN made it a key precondition
\nfor attending the summit.<\/p>\n
U.S. reluctance to sign the treaty comes despite ambitious
\nplans by Washington to rapidly expand ties with the region,
\ndiplomats said.<\/p>\n
Preparations are underway to hold the first ever summit
\nmeeting between U.S. President George W. Bush and ASEAN leaders
\nnext year.<\/p>\n
In addition, officials are set to begin working on a blueprint
\nfor cooperation between ASEAN and the United States to be adopted
\nwhen they commemorate their 30th anniversary of relations in
\n2007.<\/p>\n
Proposed by Washington, the \"U.S.-ASEAN Enhanced Partnership\"
\nagreement has an action plan to achieve common vision across a
\nfull range of economic, political and security issues.<\/p>\n
The United States is the largest trading partner for ASEAN and
\na top investor in the region.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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