ASEAN ministers meet 3 hours to discuss `anything under sun'
ASEAN ministers meet 3 hours to discuss `anything under sun'
BANGKOK (JP): ASEAN foreign ministers will discuss regional
security and political issues with their counterparts from 12
countries for the first time ever today.
Predictably, the debut of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)
meeting will consist mostly of formalities as the 18
representatives only have three hours to discuss "anything under
the sun", as one diplomat facetiously put it.
ASEAN foreign ministers consider it important because it is
the only forum where they can discuss political and security
cooperation in Asia-Pacific.
The dialog follows the annual meeting of foreign ministers of
ASEAN, which groups Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia,
Brunei and the Philippines, which ended on Saturday.
The ASEAN regional forum brings together Australia, New
Zealand, the U.S., Canada, European Union, Japan, South Korea (as
dialog partners), Russia, China (as consultative partners), Papua
New Guinea, Vietnam, Laos (as observers), Cambodia and Myanmar
(as guests).
Indonesia, which plays an important role in the solution of
Cambodian civil wars and aims the same in the potential South
China dispute, hopes the forum will come up with concrete
proposals on how to maintain peace and security in the Asia-
Pacific rim.
"The forum is too prestigious to be attended by ministers if
it proceeds like an ordinary seminar," says Indonesian Foreign
Minister Ali Alatas.
ASEAN officials hope that the forum will enable participants
to start trusting each other and assess challenges and
opportunities of the regional security and political cooperation.
ASEAN permanent secretary Pracha Guna-Kasem said the
gathering would be a "free-flow discussion" but participants
could raise issues in general terms to avoid clashes.
Face saving
Malaysian Foreign Minister Abdullah Badawi said that although
the maiden ARF formal meeting would end with a chairman
statement, it will be a critical starting point for better
cooperation in Asia- Pacific.
The absence of U.S. Foreign Secretary Warren Christopher, who
is attending the "more important" Middle East peace talks, has
cast doubt over American commitment to the forum.
Washington, which will assign Christopher's under secretary
Strobe Talbott, had reassured its commitment - a move widely seen
as a face-saving gimmick for host Thailand.
Foreign ministers in the forum, which had informally met in
last year's ASEAN meeting in Singapore, will exchange views on a
wide range of issues, such as security in South China Sea,
Cambodian conflict, political situation in Myanmar, stability in
East Asia and peace efforts in South and North Korea.
White book
The dialog partners proposed that the ASEAN Regional Forum be
developed into a regional security arrangement and that a "white
book" be prepared on defense, establishment of peacekeeping
forces training center and other modalities.
But ASEAN officials have given cool reactions to the speedy
implementation of the proposal. China and Vietnam both back the
proposal but share similar reservations with ASEAN.
ASEAN member countries fear that dominant powers like the U.S,
China, Japan and Russia would take control of the security
arrangement in Southeast Asia and dictate everything for them.
They want to see to it that the forum includes discussions on
political issues and security in the whole Asia-Pacific region
instead of limiting the scope to security in Southeast Asia.
ASEAN is finding ways to bind its partners with the Treaty of
Amity and Cooperation adopted in Bali in 1976 as a code of
conduct for handling political and security problems in the Asia-
Pacific region without making them treaty members.