Bangkok Summit historic for Southeast Asia
JAKARTA (JP): The upcoming summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Bangkok will unite the seven ASEAN leaders with their counterparts from the other three non-ASEAN countries in the region.
Thailand's Ambassador to Indonesia, Kasit Pirornya, said yesterday that the leaders of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar have confirmed their attendance, either as guest or observer, at the Dec. 14-15 summit in Bangkok.
This will be the first time that the leaders of all 10 Southeast Asian countries, some of which have been locked in confrontation in the past, will be gathered in one forum.
The prime minister of Papua New Guinea, which has observer status despite being outside of Southeast Asia proper, will be taking part in the summit, the ambassador said.
Anticipating the three in the organization before the turn of the century, the summit has picked as its provisional theme, "Towards One Southeast Asia", Kasit said.
This will be the fifth ASEAN summit since its founding in 1967. The group's founding members were Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Brunei joined in 1984 and Vietnam became its seventh member last July.
The ASEAN leaders are expected to have an audience with the Thai King. They will issue a declaration at the end of the summit.
Kasit said there will be a separate meeting between the seven ASEAN leaders and their counterparts from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar on Dec. 15.
He recalled that Laos, which has an observer status, has already stated that it intends to formally apply for ASEAN membership in 1997. Cambodia, which has guest status, said it plans to apply within a year or two. Myanmar has applied for an observer status and the application is currently being considered.
While there is no agreement on when an ASEAN-10 will be realized, most officials in the region are optimistic that it will happen before the turn of the century.
Common plan
To speed up the realization, Thailand as the host nation of the summit, has proposed a common plan in which the wealthier ASEAN members provide financial assistance to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar so that their economies can integrate faster with the rest of ASEAN, Kasit said.
Besides the expansion of ASEAN membership, the ASEAN leaders are also expected to discuss the proposal to speed up the establishment of an ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) ahead of the currently agreed deadline of 2003. Brunei has proposed that the deadline be moved forward to 2000.
Kasit said the ASEAN Summit, to be held at the Royal Orchid Sheraton, will be preceded by a series of ministerial and senior officials meetings.
ASEAN foreign ministers will meet on Dec. 11 and at the same time, their economic ministers will also hold a separate meeting. The foreign and economic ministers will have a joint meeting on Dec. 12. Senior officials will begin their meeting on Dec. 6.
Kasit said the summit will be held at the same time that a series of major events are taking place in Thailand.
These include the Southeast Asia Games in the northern Thailand city of Chiang Mai, the Princess Congress about scientific, technological and environment issues, and the closing of the Worldtech '95 exhibition of industrial and agricultural products in Nakhon Ratchasima, an event in which Indonesia is also taking part.
Asked whether the expected tough competition between Indonesia and Thailand for the overall SEA Games title will have any impact on the summit proceedings, Kasit responded with just one word: "No."
Kasit also explained that the Thai embassy and the Indonesian government are currently working out a new schedule for the visit of Thai Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-Archa.
The original visit last week was canceled because of a major flood in Thailand that required the prime minister's attention.
Kasit said Banharn will be meeting with President Soeharto at the United Nations' anniversary commemoration in New York next month to finalize the date of the prime minister's visit.
He added that the visit will take place before the ASEAN summit. (emb)