Disintegration of ASEAN envisaged

Tue, 22 Sep 1998 | Source: AP

BANGKOK (AP): Former Thai prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh has said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is in danger of falling apart because of the regional economic crisis and weak leadership.

"If the present generation of leaders cannot help sustain the grouping's progress and unity, how will the new generation be able to forge unity?," Chavalit asked in an interview with The Nation newspaper published on Monday.

ASEAN is a regional security and economic grouping that consists of Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Chavalit was prime minister for one year until Nov. 1997, when he resigned amid public discontent over his inability to manage Thailand's plummeting economy. Thailand was the epicenter of the regional economic crisis, which has now spread to Russia and Latin America.

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