ASEAN-U.S. pact OK, but no troop deployment

ASEAN-U.S. pact OK, but no troop deployment

Agencies, Bandar Seri Begawan

An anti-terrorism pact to be signed by the United States and 10 Southeast Asian nations allows for greater cooperation in counter-terrorism measures, but stops short of providing for U.S. troop deployment in the region, an ASEAN foreign minister said Sunday.

The deployment of US forces "is not part of the framework" and will be an individual choice for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said.

U.S. and ASEAN foreign ministers are expected to sign the "Joint Declaration for Cooperation to Combat International Terrorism" following regional security talks in Brunei this week.

A draft document was settled over the weekend after taking into account concerns of Indonesia and Vietnam on the role of the United Nations and interference in domestic affairs.

ASEAN officials reached a consensus Saturday addressing fears by Indonesia and Vietnam that the terrorism accord could lead to the basing of U.S. ground troops in the region. They sought guarantees for national sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs.

One Asian diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Washington wanted the draft of the treaty changed to drop a reference about respect for "the principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity and ... non-intervention in the domestic affairs of other states."

The provision had been inserted in the document during a meeting of senior ASEAN diplomats ahead of next week's meeting of regional foreign ministers with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell in Brunei.

"I don't expect much of a problem, ASEAN is likely to accept the U.S. counter-proposals," the diplomat said.

The declaration retains language supporting the United Nations Charter and international law, implicitly respecting national sovereignty.

U.S. officials in Brunei had no immediate comment, saying the matter needed to be referred to Washington.

Syed Hamid said the declaration is not as detailed as an anti- terrorism accord Washington signed with Kuala Lumpur in May.

"Ours is more detailed. The one here is in general terms and (has) nothing to do with putting in troops. There will not be military participation, but it is more of cooperation to establish efforts to combat terrorism," he told reporters.

Powell will attend this week's meeting between ASEAN nations and countries with strategic interests in the area, the ASEAN Regional Forum.

The annual conference will deal with its most crowded agenda in years.

In addition to the war against terrorism, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, tensions between North and South Korea following a recent naval clash, and infiltration in Kashmir keeping India and Pakistan on a war footing, all loom large.

ASEAN foreign ministers began arriving in Brunei Sunday ahead of meetings Wednesday and Thursday with 13 other nations, including the United States, China, India, Japan, both Koreas, Russia, Australia and New Zealand.

The terror threat has fueled a drive by some ASEAN members to transform the forum -- seen largely as a toothless talk shop since its inception in 1994 -- into an effective security grouping.

This effort is separate from the proposed treaty with the United States which would increase U.S. technical and financial aid to the region to fight terrorism. A separate statement will urge nations to work to stop the flow of funds to terrorist organizations.

Southeast Asia has become a second front in the war on terrorism, with U.S. troops helping fight Abu Sayyaf guerrillas in the Philippines, and Malaysia and Singapore arresting scores of alleged al-Qaeda-linked extremists accused of plotting bomb attacks.

ASEAN also appears ready to settle for a nonbinding accord with China on a "code of conduct" to prevent clashes in the South China Sea over rival territorial claims, but wants the deal to cover the entire area, not just disputed island groups like the Spratlys.

The Spratlys, composed of islets and reefs, are believed to sit atop vast undersea oil and gas deposits. China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan claim the islands, wholly or in part.

Years of talks on the code of conduct had been going nowhere, and Malaysian diplomats have proposed a nonbinding political declaration instead of a full treaty that had little chance of success. China's reaction will be closely watched.