ASEAN held back by poor image problem: Official

ASEAN held back by poor image problem: Official

MANILA (Agencies): The secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations said yesterday that ASEAN had itself to blame for its poor image among its own people and warned this was hurting its effectiveness as a regional bloc.

Rodolfo Severino of the Philippines urged the ASEAN foreign ministers' conference, which is due to open in Manila today, to deal with the image problem.

In a report on the regional situation circulated to the ministers, Severino also gave prominence to the issue of nuclear proliferation after the tit-for-tat nuclear weapons tests conducted by India and Pakistan in May.

He noted the United Nations Security Council resolution condemning the Indian and Pakistani tests, but added no criticism of his own.

The two-day foreign ministers' meeting will take place amid anxieties over the future of Asian economies after a year of financial turmoil and with question marks over ASEAN's effectiveness as a group.

"Clearly, ASEAN has not done enough to make itself better known to its own people and to the world beyond," Severino said. "In general, public ignorance about ASEAN has not helped its effectiveness at all."

The region-wide currency crisis and the disastrous haze generated by forest fires in Indonesia last year both contributed to a political weakening of ASEAN, which was widely perceived as having come up with no answers to these challenges.

"The blows dealt ASEAN economies by the financial crisis and the haze periodically enveloping parts of ASEAN have opened ASEAN to severe criticism from personalities both within and outside the region," Severino said.

Some critics have also expressed unhappiness with ASEAN's lack of involvement in human rights issues. The critics cite the example of member state Myanmar, where a military junta has for years suppressed pro-democracy campaigners.

ASEAN says its policy is to act on the basis of consensus among its nine members -- Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.

Efforts by Thailand and the Philippines to broaden the ability of ASEAN to become involved in the problems of individual members were set back yesterday as several countries expressed disapproval.

Since its founding 31 years ago, ASEAN has observed a policy of non-intervention in the internal affairs of its member countries, making it difficult for it to deal with issues such as forest fires in Indonesia which blanketed much of the region in haze.

Thailand and the Philippines are proposing that ASEAN shift instead to a policy of "flexible engagement," which is to be discussed during the annual meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers which begins today in Manila.

But foreign ministers from Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia rejected the proposed shift.

"I prefer the policy of non-intervention," Malaysian Foreign Minister Abdullah Badawi told reporters after arriving yesterday.

"The success of ASEAN cooperation is that we have been comfortable. Any feeling that you will be criticized, any finger pointing, will make you uncomfortable."

Singapore Foreign Minister Shanmugam Jayakumar also declared his opposition to any change, and Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas has said ASEAN should not tinker with a fundamental principle.

The proposed shift comes as Southeast Asian countries are becoming more aware that problems in one nation -- such as currency devaluations, political unrest or environmental degradation -- often affect its neighbors.

"The magnitude of the problem has continued to overwhelm ASEAN's efforts at the national and regional levels and put the effectiveness of ASEAN cooperation and even of the 'ASEAN way' into question," Severino stated.

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