EC vice president to attend ASEAN talks

EC vice president to attend ASEAN talks

JAKARTA (JP): European Commission (EC) Vice President Manuel
Marin is due to arrive here on Monday to participate in the ASEAN
Regional Forum and the ASEAN post ministerial meeting.

The European Commission representative in Jakarta said
yesterday that Marin will also hold bilateral talks with
Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas and other
cabinet ministers.

He may also meet with President Soeharto on July 26.

The talks will cover a range of issues of mutual interest such
as economic and development cooperation, development of EC-
Indonesia relations and aspects of the ASEAN talks.

The representative said Marin's visit is taking place at a
"significant point" in the relations between the EC and ASEAN
since both have taken several initiatives to seek more dynamic
relations toward the next century.

In 1994, the EC launched a "New Strategy for Asia". This year,
it launched "Europe-Asia Forum on Culture, Values and
Technology".

Last March, ASEAN initiated the first Asia-Europe meeting in
Bangkok. Twenty-two heads of states participated in the
conference.

Marin sparked a debate earlier this week when he warned that
ASEAN's insistence to establish links with the Myanmarese
military junta could endanger EU-ASEAN relations.

Alatas said Thursday that other countries and organizations
had no right to dictate whether the association should or should
not accept Myanmar in its midst.

"We in ASEAN have the right to decide who becomes a member and
who will become an observer," he said.

Malaysia's secretary-general of foreign affairs, Ahmad Kamil
Jaafar, said that Europe was being hypocritical on issues of
human rights. (pan)