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".