ASEAN ministers upbeat on future of the grouping

By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat

SINGAPORE (JP): On the eve of their annual two-day meeting, ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remained buoyant on Thursday of the grouping's future, despite seemingly different perceptions on how it should advance.

The 10 foreign ministers who by Thursday had arrived expressed unity, although there were tinges of differing perceptions on where the grouping should head.

Indonesia's Ali Alatas stressed the importance of the meeting and pointed out that this would be the last meeting of the decade, and the first in which all 10 Southeast Asian ministers sit as fellow members.

"We will have Cambodia for the first time as a member," he told reporters upon arrival.

Convening of a ministerial retreat, in addition to the formal meetings, would allow ministers "an opportunity to go beyond the day to day", he said.

"I have been asked to look at the future of ASEAN," he said of the retreat to be held on the resort island of Sentosa on Friday afternoon.

Alatas refused to divulge his thoughts further, but it is well known that Indonesia remains adamant on upholding basic ASEAN principles, including non-interference.

Formed in 1967, ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

In the past two years, the region has been under severe pressure from the financial crisis, raising questions on the validity and future of ASEAN.

The Philippines and Thailand have been pushing for more flexibility among members to allow them to tackle domestic issues that may have regional implications.

The political changes taking place in several countries have also caused increased friction among ASEAN leaders.

Singapore foreign minister S. Jayakumar, who will chair the meetings, remained upbeat, saying ASEAN's reputation and credibility although dented by the crisis was now slowly being restored.

"The retreat will be an important occasion for the ministers to discuss how the 10 countries can work toward strengthening ASEAN," he said.

Jayakumar remarked that while a process of critical re- evaluation was necessary, ASEAN should not veer from the basic tenets that have served it well for 32 years.

"These tenets were consultation, consensus, non-interference in each others' affairs and non-use of force," he said.

Separately, the Indonesian foreign ministry's Director General for Political Affairs Nugroho Wisnumurti, when asked about possible fundamental changes to ASEAN, replied that the grouping should continue to cooperate based on the principles it has adhered to so far.

He pointed out that member states are so entwined with each other that they must work together for their common interest.

"We are already tied to so many anchors ... if one succeeds then we all do, but if one collapses then everyone feels it," he said.

Philippines foreign minister Domingo Siazon said the meeting would be crucial in looking at the future of ASEAN, especially in light of the many political changes going on.

Siazon stressed the need for coherence in approaches to different problems, because "inevitably we will have problems".

Alatas got down to work immediately as soon as he arrived, holding informal meetings with his counterparts from Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam.

According to Nugroho, the meeting with Jayakumar primarily involved consultations on the upcoming ASEAN meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum and Post Ministerial Conference that follows.

When asked, he said the impasse of Jakarta's proposal for an extradition treaty with Singapore was not discussed.