ARF opens with informal dinner

Tue, 23 Jul 1996, 00:00 WIB | Source: JP

JAKARTA (JP): The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) began yesterday
evening with an informal working dinner attended by the
participating foreign ministers.

They were seated together at an elongated table in
alphabetical order with most donning batik shirts. Others, such
as Ireland's Dick Spring and U.S. Secretary of State Warren
Christopher, wore suits to the dinner hosted by Indonesia's Ali
Alatas.

Although the mood was relaxed and casual yesterday, officials
said that the talking would get tougher at today's one-day
meeting.

The ARF is a multilateral political and security consultative
forum established by the seven members of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia,
the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Other ARF participants include Cambodia, Laos, Papua New
Guinea and Myanmar as ASEAN observers, along with dialog partners
Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, Korea, New Zealand,
Russia, the United States and the European Union.

India and Myanmar will be participating for the first time
having had their status recently elevated.

The ARF is designed as a free-wheeling forum for discussion
but a number of important issues in the region are expected to be
discussed.

One in particular is the issue of Myanmar. Several of ASEAN's
dialog partners met yesterday with Myanmarese Foreign Minister U
Ohn Gyaw.

Irish Foreign Minister Dick Spring, after his meeting with Ohn
Gyaw, said he had expressed the European Union's concern over the
domestic situation in Myanmar and also discussed the importance
of further meetings with Yangon.

Spring is here as chairman of the council of ministers of the
European Union.

Australia's Alexander Downer said he expressed Canberra's
concern to Ohn Gyaw, but would not say whether he would
officially take up the issue at the meeting today.

When asked about Myanmar's participation in the ARF, Downer
said "it would be a mistake to keep people out of the ARF on the
grounds of their substantial political differences between us and
them."

Another topic which is expected to be raised by ASEAN members
themselves is the sea-baselines in the South China Sea recently
legislated by Beijing.

ASEAN states have expressed their concern about the baselines
and maintained that they have no basis since China is a
continental, not archipelagic, state.

The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Shen Guofang, told
journalists yesterday that experts in Beijing had carried out
extensive studies before drawing the baselines.

"Of course there are some countries that hold different views
on this, (but) we are willing to exchange views with them," he
said.

When pressed by journalists on whether he thought China was an
archipelagic state, Guofang replied: "China has a very
complicated sea bank and characteristics...That's why we consider
the characteristics and complicated factors, that why we
published our baseline."

The issue was also discussed when Alatas held private talks
with his Chinese counterpart Qian Qichen yesterday afternoon.

According to Guofang there is no dispute between Indonesia and
China on the issue. The Chinese spokesperson did not elaborate,
and said that it was only a big issue in the press.

ASEAN states are also expected to press the issue of the
Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons Free Zone (SEANWFZ) Treaty which
the United States has continued to reject.

The Third ARF will be held this morning at the Jakarta
Convention Center. Ministers will be seated in rattan chairs
arranged in a circle facing each other.

Other officials will be gathered in a separate room where they
will monitor the discussions a live television linkup.

After lunch the ARF ministers will attend an audience with
President Soeharto at the State Palace after which they will
return to finish their morning discussions. (pwn/mds)