ASEAN ministers to discuss anti-terror fight, economic reforms
ASEAN ministers to discuss anti-terror fight, economic reforms
P. Parameswaran, Agence France-Presse, Manila
Counter-terrorism and prospective economic reforms in Southeast Asia are among key issues to be discussed by ASEAN foreign ministers at their annual talks in Brunei next week, officials said.
The ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will launch their two-day meeting in Brunei's capital Bandar Seri Begawan on July 29 before separate talks with counterparts from the region's major trading partners, including the United States, the European Union and Japan.
"The ASEAN foreign ministers will meet in Brunei under a different strategic backdrop since their meeting in July last year as a result of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.," ASEAN spokesman M. C. Abad told AFP.
This change of outlook did not come so much from ASEAN but from its partners, primarily the United States, Abad said. "ASEAN will have to respond to this situation while at the same time pushing for the region's priorities," he said.
Some analysts have expressed concern that discussions on terrorism would "hijack" the meeting and push to the fringes domestic issues that needed urgent action to regain ASEAN's standing as an influential political and economic entity.
Before a severe financial crisis struck Southeast Asia and sent it into recession in 1997, the region was the world's fastest growing area.
It may have largely recovered from the turmoil but has not regained its economic competitiveness and luster as a foreign investment haven.
"Before the crisis, 60 percent of all investments into Asia came to ASEAN but now it has dwindled to less than 20 percent," lamented a senior official from the group, speaking on condition of anonymity.
But Abad said the ministers were expected to endorse a "work plan" to beef up the competitive edge of ASEAN, which comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The theme of this year's meeting is "ASEAN responding to challenges."
ASEAN leaders identified at their summit talks in November last year the "two-fold challenge of addressing a severe world economic downturn and contributing to international efforts to combat terrorism."
The foreign ministers were expected to follow-up on these issues, including possibly calling on the United Nations to play a "key" role in coordinating the battle against terrorism, informed sources said.
The ministers would also review steps taken by their governments to flush out allies of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network, blamed for the September 11 terror attacks on the United States, they said.
Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines have already forged an anti-terrorism pact.
Kuala Lumpur particularly wants the other Southeast Asian nations to accede to the trilateral pact.
Counter-terrorism is also expected to dominate the meetings of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), Asia-Pacific's main security umbrella grouping, as well as talks between the Southeast Asian group and its "dialogue partners" from July 31 to August 1.
The ARF includes the ASEAN foreign ministers and their counterparts from Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, North Korea, Papua New Guinea, Russia, South Korea and the United States.
ARF members at the Brunei talks could initiate moves to freeze funds linked to terror groups, officials stressed.
Aside from terrorism, tensions between India and Pakistan as well as the two Koreas are expected to be discussed.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who will visit India and Pakistan and several Southeast Asian states before the ARF meeting, is expected to spearhead the ARF discussions on terrorism, officials said.