Batik and smiles hide APEC summit brouhaha

Batik and smiles hide APEC summit brouhaha

CYBERJAYA, Malaysia (Agencies): Asia-Pacific leaders put on
batik shirts and best smiles on Wednesday to brave out their
uneasy annual summit in the heart of Malaysia's site for a
futuristic high-tech city.

The 21 presidents, prime ministers and government leaders
gathered at an oil-palm plantation set to be the heart of a
future "Silicon Valley" city for their annual fashion statement.

Dressed in red, green, blue and purple batik shirts, the
leaders waved and tried to seem relaxed as they came to end of
what has been one of the tensest summit of the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

The photo has traditionally been one of the jolliest events of
the annual summit. Leaders also wore batik shirts in Bogor,
Indonesia, while in Manila they donned peasant-style "barong
tagalog".

They were allowed to take off their ties in Osaka, Japan,
while in Canada last year they wore leather bomber jackets.

U.S. Vice President Al Gore, who set off a diplomatic storm by
giving a speech in support of Malaysia pro-reform activists, was
at one end of the line.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was in the middle of
the group, though the two did briefly walk together across the
Cyberview Lodge lawn.

Thailand sympathizes with some of the comments made by Gore at
the APEC summit this week but is uncomfortable with how they were
expressed, Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan said.

Surin said in an interview with Reuters Television on the
sidelines of the summit that it was not always helpful to be
blunt on sensitive issues.

"Thailand has done similar things but has communicated its
views in a very quiet and friendly manner and I think that is one
way of passing on our concern," he said.

"It is a big problem but you have to be extremely careful."
Surin has suggested this year that the Association of South East
Asian Nations (ASEAN) scrap its traditional policy of non-
interference in each others' domestic affairs and adopt a more
flexible approach to dealing with its neighbors.

ASEAN members have traditionally had a policy of "constructive
engagement" for dealing with other nations. This means they have
always opposed sanctions against countries, even if they fiercely
disagree with them.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said on Wednesday the
APEC summit could have achieved a better result if U.S. President
Bill Clinton had been present.

"It would have gone differently. It is always better to have
the occupant of the most powerful political position in the world
around the table," Howard told reporters at the end of the sixth
APEC leaders meeting here.

Howard, however, was quick to point out he was not criticizing
Gore, adding he understood the reasons for Clinton's absence.

"It would always be a help to have the president of the United
States present. No doubt about that but I think he had reasons
for not coming which I understood," the Australian premier said.

Howard also said Gore's remarks on the Malaysian government
had no impact during the leaders discussion which focused on the
Asian financial crisis on the social and political life of the
people in the region.