ASEAN should make decisions

Talking is obviously better than not talking. But dialog without any set program and as an end in itself seems more like an opportunity to golf than anything else.

If ASEAN is to deal with the challenges of the next few years, it must do something about some overriding issues, including North Korean non-proliferation, Chinese expansionism and the new "observer," Myanmar.

Myanmar, now being wooed, is presently locking up democratically elected officials and torturing foreigners. When things got rough in the Taiwan Strait, ASEAN members knew all too well that their security depended on the U.S. presence in the region. North Korean nuclear weapons programs seem to be out of ASEAN's line of sight. Security in Southeast Asia depends on how these issues are handled. Enough dialog. Let's make some decisions.

TOM MEIDINGER

Jakarta