Australia agrees on TAC

Australia agrees on TAC

AUSTRALIA: Australia will join a new East Asia Summit later this
year, foreign minister Alexander Downer said on Tuesday, after
bowing to regional pressure and agreeing to sign a mandatory
peace pact.

Southeast Asian foreign ministers meeting in Laos confirmed
that Australia would be an "inaugural participant" in the summit
to be held in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur in December,
Downer said in a statement.

"Australia looks forward to making a constructive contribution
to the East Asia Summit," he said of the gathering of leaders
from Southeast Asia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New
Zealand.

The invitation from the 10-member Association of Southeast
Asian Nations came after Australia agreed to accede to a 1976
Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) which prohibits the use of
force in the settlement of regional disputes and binds members
from interfering in the internal affairs of ASEAN countries.

ASEAN had insisted that Australia, keen for a stronger voice
in Asian diplomacy and seeking wider trade ties, sign the Treaty
of Amity and Cooperation before Canberra was invited to the
summit. -- Reuters