ASEAN affirms regional lead
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As dialog partners urged a greater role with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), foreign ministers of the regional grouping reaffirmed on Wednesday that ASEAN would remain in the driver's seat in their cooperation with third-party countries and organizational groupings.
Their assertion came amid the intention of ASEAN's dialog partners -- China, Japan and South Korea -- to hold the East Asia Summit next year.
The ministers also pushed the regional grouping to review the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) structure in order to retain ASEAN's role as the driving spirit, as proposals had also been made for a shared leadership of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) involving ASEAN, its dialog partners, 12 Asia-Pacific countries -- including the U.S. and Australia -- and the European Union.
In their joint communique on the ARF, ASEAN ministers stated: "We resolved to ensure that ASEAN shall continue its leading role to further the momentum of cooperation in further advancing the ARF process, as its contribution to the maintenance of peace, security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region."
During Wednesday's closing ceremony of the 37th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM), outgoing chairman Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda underlined that wider cooperation should not threaten the future existence of ASEAN.
"In view of various proposals for summit meetings with ASEAN by our dialog partners, we have to rationalize our policy on such summits. We will see to it that in engaging in summit dialogs, we do not strain our resources and still do justice to summit decisions and agreements," he said in his closing remarks, clearly referring to the East Asia Summit plan.
On the summit plan, however, the foreign ministers appeared divided, as the idea for an East Asia Summit was initially proposed during the Kuala Lumpur ASEAN Summit in 1997. Discussions on the matter had been continually deferred by several ASEAN members.
Indonesia voiced the strongest objections to the proposed summit, pointing to the importance of upholding the relevance and existence of ASEAN.
Malaysia, on the other hand, supported the proposal, citing the importance of enhancing the existing cooperation with dialog partners.
"The debate has prolonged the final session of the AMM, as Malaysia would like to see a development of the proposal that was presented in Kuala Lumpur," a diplomat attending the session told The Jakarta Post.
Meanwhile, Hassan defended the soft stance against Myanmar, that ASEAN had simply underlined the need to involve all social strata in the ongoing national convention in that country, stressing that there had been some progress in Myanmar and ASEAN should appreciate its efforts to draw up a new constitution.
An envoy said during the meeting, Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung had briefed them that on May 17, Suu Kyi was invited to the national convention, but that she had declined.
"The problem is that when one government has lost its credibility in front of the international community, the world will not believe whatever explanation they give," the envoy said.
On Thursday, ASEAN will meet with their major trading partners, including the U.S. and the European Union, and on Friday, ASEAN will host the ARF annual meeting. -- (For more stories click National button)