Bombing of Afghanistan clouds Asian summit

Bombing of Afghanistan clouds Asian summit

Agencies, Bandar Seri Begawan/Kuala Lumpur

With Islam's holy month of Ramadhan looming, next week's summit
of 13 leaders from Asia in the Muslim sultanate of Brunei may
give more evidence of fracturing support for the U.S.-led
campaign in Afghanistan.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), who will
be joined by China, Japan and South Korea for a two-day summit on
Monday, has been toward the rear in the rush to support
Washington's cause.

"Other regional organizations have by and large come on board
quickly. ASEAN has been conspicuous by its tardiness," said Carl
Thayer, a regional expert at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security
Studies in Hawaii.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, whose support
for the United States is "unwavering", said this week a
declaration backing the war on terrorism will be signed in
Brunei.

But she also said member countries would qualify their support
depending on domestic conditions.

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, on Thursday
called for a cease-fire in Afghanistan.

While Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, a veteran
who has established his country as a model progressive Muslim
nation, has warned the bombs may worsen problems of terrorism.

Mahathir and Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri are
both well aware that admonishing Washington plays well with
public opinion at home.

But, there appears to be no acute pressure yet on either
leader to lodge firmer condemnation of the U.S. strategy.

Demonstrations in Jakarta have tailed off, and there has only
been one protest of any size in Kuala Lumpur.

Brunei is the third Muslim country in ASEAN. But this
northwest corner of the island of Borneo, with just 300,000
people, cushioned by oil wealth, is no hotbed of activism.

Senior officials began gathering Friday in Brunei for talks
paving the way for the annual summit of leaders of the 10-member
Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Terrorist threats in some countries and economic fallout on
export-dependent economies, caused by a global slowdown deepening
in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, will
top the agenda.

"Everybody is affected by the impact of the terrorist
attacks," said Rodolfo Severino, the association's secretary-
general. "All the ASEAN nations realize more than ever before
that terrorism is something we have to cooperate against."

ASEAN officials working over the weekend will try to find the
right words for the summit's final communique, but the strength
of the statement may only just satisfy the United States.

The ASEAN+3 summit comes just weeks after the leaders met at
the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Shanghai,
where Washington won broad support for its war on terror.

Since then, concern over mounting Afghan civilian casualties
has multiplied, especially among the Muslim nations of the Malay
archipelago who have opposed the bombing campaign from the start.

"The feeling about the American bombing is strong and getting
stronger," Mahathir told BBC Radio in an interview this week.

On Friday his Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Malaysia
hoped the United States would change tactics before the onset of
the Muslim holy month, which begins in mid-November.

"We hope it will not prolong (the bombing) into Ramadhan
because this is not a conventional war. It is a manhunt for the
terrorists," Syed Hamid told reporters.

Divisions within ASEAN are another critical factor hindering
more fulsome support for the Afghan conflict.

"None of these countries, except Singapore, has been
enthusiastic in the first place," said Bruce Gale, political
analyst at Control Risks in Singapore.

Some discussion is expected on moves, initiated by Mahathir
and Arroyo, already afoot to counter homegrown militancy and
cross-border links between various rebel groups.

Meanwhile, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said
Friday that Singapore and Thailand would be invited to join a
sub-regional coalition that her government proposed to fight
terrorism.

Arroyo, spending a holiday in northern mountain resort city of
Baguio, said she discussed the plan in a meeting with ambassadors
from the United States, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and
Australia, which are part of the U.S.-led international anti-
terrorist coalition.

Manila originally proposed that the Philippines, Malaysia and
Indonesia form a sub-regional coalition to fight terrorism in the
face of growing extremist violence in the three countries.