ASEAN all set for inaugural security forum
JAKARTA (JP): The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will open a new chapter in its 27 year history in Bangkok later this month at the inaugural meeting of a security forum of 18 countries including the United States, Russia and China.
"This is a very historic meeting because for the first time foreign ministers from the 18 countries are meeting together to discuss things of common interests to them," ASEAN Secretary General Dato' Ajit Singh told a press conference yesterday.
The first meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is slated for July 25 and will be attended by the foreign ministers of its 18 member countries: the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the European Union, Russia, China, Vietnam, Laos and Papua New Guinea and also the ASEAN six: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
There will be no specific agenda at the meeting although a preparatory discussion by senior officials was already held in Bangkok last May.
"It's going to be a very short meeting. One session lasting three hours followed by a working dinner hosted by the Thai foreign minister," Dato' Ajit said.
The agenda is going to be very broad to enable the participants to speak their mind. "We're not restricting the agenda in any way," he said, describing the gathering as more of an "armchair discussion".
"The important thing is that they're all getting together. The broad agenda has to do with the issues and challenges the region is facing, and this is being deliberately done to enable them to come up with their own vision, their own points of interest and concern as far as the region is concerned."
"I don't think we should be too overtly ambitious about the result of the meeting because its main importance is to enable them to get together, to get to know each other in order to develop confidence and trust, to develop a comfort level among themselves so that in this way we can build up on this," he said.
Dato' Ajit said the forum represents an effort on the part of the ASEAN countries to start discussing what kind of new order the region wants to establish as a result of the end of the Cold War. "So this is an important development, not only for ASEAN but also for the Asia- Pacific region."
He did not rule out the possibility that some of the ASEAN ministers might raise a number of the group's proposals for confidence building measures, including the ASEAN blueprints for regional security such as the Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality and the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone.
The ARF is the latest addition to a series of ASEAN meetings that are being held annually in one of the ASEAN capitals on a rotating basis. Bangkok is the host of this year's meetings.
It follows immediately after the annual ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM), slated for July 22-23, and before the Post- Ministerial Conference (PMC), which is a series of meetings between ASEAN's foreign ministers and their dialog partners: the U.S., Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the European Union, slated for July 26-28.
Vietnam, Laos and Papua New Guinea will be attending the ASEAN ministerial meeting as observers. China and Russia as consultative partners and Cambodia and Myanmar as guests.
The AMM will largely discuss political and security issues in the region and the possibility of expanding ASEAN membership after Vietnam recently announced its desire to join the organization as soon as possible.
Dato Ajit said he will also be reporting to the ministers about the progress he made regarding the ASEAN effort to sell the East Asian Economic Caucus plan to other prospective participants: Japan, South Korea, China and Taipei.
The PMC will discuss a wide range of political and economic issues.
First it will involve the six ASEAN and the seven dialog partners, and later there will be separate meetings between the ASEAN six and each of the partners. There will also be separate bilateral meetings between the ministers. (emb)