ASEAN ministers wrap up retreat
ASEAN ministers wrap up retreat
Ben Rowse, Agence France-Presse, Halong Bay, Vietnam
Southeast Asian foreign ministers wrapped up their retreat in Vietnam on Friday following talks on strengthening regional ties and resolving a spat with the European Union (EU) over Myanmar.
After a lengthy meeting that ended late Thursday, the ministers and representatives of the 10-member ASEAN bloc were given a chance to relax with a boat trip around Halong Bay's spectacular 3,000 towering limestone islets.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda, speaking in his capacity as the chair of the annual retreat, said Thursday's five-hour talks had been productive.
"As usual at an ASEAN foreign ministers' retreat, we were able to discuss matters of common concern in a very frank and open manner," he told reporters.
An ASEAN security community, which was one of three "pillars" included in the Bali Concord II endorsed last October at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, was among the topics discussed, he said.
Together with the creation of similar economic and socio- cultural communities, the concord lays the foundations for the creation of an ASEAN Community by 2020.
The ministers also discussed the deteriorating situation in Iraq, the North Korean nuclear crisis and the mounting war of words between bitter rivals Taiwan and China ahead of this month's Taiwanese presidential elections.
"We emphasize the need to avoid any actions (across the Taiwan strait) that may further exacerbate the situation," Hassan said on late Thursday, adding that the ministers had reaffirmed their common one-China stance.
However, the most sensitive discussions centered on the Asia- Europe Meeting (ASEM) which is scheduled to be held in Hanoi in October.
ASEAN wants its newer members -- Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar -- to be included in the biennial summit in return for the participation of the 10 European Union candidate countries. The EU, however, is opposed to Myanmar's involvement unless the human rights situation there rapidly improves.
"The Asian position is very clear. It's not just an ASEAN position," said Singapore's Foreign Minister S. Jayakumar.
"On the European side there are 10 new members, so our position is that 10 new members from Europe be admitted and three new members from Asia."
His comments were echoed by Hassan. "We did agree ... that no political conditions be attached on their admission to ASEM," he said.
Last month, Indonesia proposed a regional peacekeeping force at a meeting of senior ASEAN officials in Jakarta preparing for the Halong Bay retreat.
Other ideas presented at the Jakarta meeting included a non- aggression treaty, an extradition treaty, a convention on counter-terrorism and an arms register.
Jayakumar, however, voiced reservations. "Singapore's view is that for the time being the peacekeeping force idea is probably not the right time now, precisely because ASEAN is not a security or defense organization," he said.
"Perhaps sometime in the future there might be scope for such an organization."