ASEAN must meet its responsibility
ASEAN must meet its responsibility
The weekend meeting of the 10 ASEAN foreign ministers is only
the beginning. The region now meets its so-called dialog partners
from the West and from Asia. Serious and dangerous developments
are on the agenda.
During weekend meetings, ASEAN has discovered its relative
good fortune. While there are risky issues such as the Spratly
Islands, the region is almost a zone of peace.
In the dozen years since Vietnam ended its ill-considered
Cambodian invasion, ASEAN borders have been among the world's
most untroubled.
ASEAN members are not without their disagreements, but they
have largely lived up to the goal of coexistence among varied
political systems.
This week, ASEAN foreign ministers face a wide range of
contentious issues at the meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum
(ARF).
In twos, threes and large groups, ASEAN members and dialog
partners from around the world will be making their points on a
wide range of issues.
It is important that ASEAN ministers take these discussions
seriously.
It would be a disservice to the region and to their own
countries if the region's foreign ministers bow to the temptation
of a platitude where honest disagreement is a better option. It
is vital that the region air its differences with allies and
acquaintances on these issues.
There are four major issues (aside from the Spratly Islands
issue) that should be on every table this week, whether
officially or unofficially. They include what do to about North
Korea, the China-Taiwan feud and the Pakistan-India
confrontation.
ASEAN is involved directly in none of these. But it has an
emphatic and overriding interest in the flash point known as the
Spratly Islands, where four members contest sovereignty with
China and Taiwan.
Other issues also will eat into the short time for this week's
talks.
These include economic policy -- for prosperity is a great aid
to security.
But ASEAN`and partners must address the four violent threats
to peace in a frank, effective and rational discussion.
Otherwise, the talks are a waste of time.
-- The Bangkok Post