Albright backs NATO before ASEAN forum

Albright backs NATO before ASEAN forum

By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat

SINGAPORE (JP): U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
defended on Tuesday NATO's recent unilateral military action in
Kosovo, arguing that circumstances necessitated the military
alliance to act without the United Nation's initial consent.

Her comments came amid strong criticism by the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and some of its "dialog
partners", which denounced the action as a violation of
international law and the UN Charter.

"I am very proud of the action the United States and NATO
took," she said, arguing that the plight of Kosovar Albanians
showed why it was justified.

She contended that NATO's military intervention was necessary
since "the United Nations cannot act because it is blocked by
those not supporting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights".

Albright is in the island state to attend a series of three-
day meetings which began on Monday with the ASEAN Regional Forum
to discuss regional security and political issues.

ASEAN -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- expressed
grave concern on Monday over the military action and feared the
neglect of basic tenets of international law set a precedent
which could resonate through the region.

As one ASEAN minister said, "the UN was only brought in post
facto".

According to delegates, the ARF was forced to make last-minute
adjustments in its Chairman's Statement on Monday after a strong
protest from the United States on the Kosovo issue.

Tuesday brought ASEAN together with dialog partners Australia,
Canada, China, the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, Russia,
South Korea and the United States.

Albright apparently felt it necessary to make the public
response after several foreign ministers made statements again
referring to the issue.

She argued the action was warranted in an attempt to bring
justice, particularly when the UN was blocked "and leaves itself
out of an essential action".

Chinese foreign minister Tang Jiaxuan countered that all
countries, strong or weak, were equal before the principle of
sovereignty.

"Claims such as 'the supremacy of human rights over
sovereignty' and 'there is no national boundary in safeguarding
human rights' are in essence excuses for strong countries to
bully the weak ones, and attempts to have a rationale for big
countries to control small ones," Tang said.

PMC

After the security and political talks which dominated
Monday's ARF, the start of the annual two-day Post Ministerial
Conference (PMC) on Tuesday was an opportunity to touch upon more
general economic issues.

Almost all ministers expressed their intent to engage in the
next round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) commencing in
2000.

Finnish foreign minister Tarja Halonen, representing the
European Union, expressed support for a short round of three-year
negotiations discussing not only trade liberalization but also
ways to ensure a stable financial environment.

She expressed the EU's support for the accession of China,
Russia and Vietnam to the WTO.

Indian foreign minister Jaswant Singh called for a grace
period for developing countries before taking on new commitments,
pointing out that the Uruguay Round Agreements cast heavy
obligations.

"We therefore need a period of adjustment before undertaking
commitments in new areas," he said.

Japan also drew attention to the need for a comprehensive
three-year WTO round.

But foreign minister Masahiko Koumura also focused on the
diversity of societies as world economies encounter more
standardization in the wake of globalization.

"Without diversity, societies may not be able to withstand
unexpected changes in the environment and the potential social
impact," Koumura said.

"Only by doing so can we ensure globalization that is kind and
gentle to humankind... A market economy with a human face".