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.