Concerns confronting ASEAN

Concerns confronting ASEAN

Madeleine Albright's statement that the Korean peninsula is
"perhaps the most dangerous place on earth today" is just one
example of the weight of international concerns that ASEAN
members are confronted with in this extremely sensitive time in
the organization's history.

Fears of another missile test by the enigmatic Pyongyang
regime cast serious doubts about how stability can be maintained
in the region. But if North Korea is the greatest threat to
peace, as the U.S. Secretary of State has warned, it is by no
means the only one.

The Taiwan crisis and the rumbling discord about ownership of
the Spratly Islands are not far behind as potential powder kegs.

Six ASEAN members have claims to the islands, and there is
clearly a willingness to find an acceptable solution, perhaps
with joint development of the natural reserves believed to be
there. It might have been better to start formal talks on the
back of the present forum rather than waiting until October.

The recent incident involving the sinking of a Chinese vessel
by the Philippine navy shows that there is some urgency in
finding an acceptable Code of Conduct, before a worse dispute
arises.

But ASEAN cannot solve this question unaided. China's role in
this matter, as with the North Korean question, is crucial. Now
that relations with the U.S. are on the mend, the two major
powers have to thrash out a mutually acceptable approach to both
problems.

But it is Beijing, as the dominant power in the region, which
must act as arbiter, rising above its own concerns in the wider
interests of regional stability.

-- The South China Morning Post, Hong Kong