Laos faces big test at helm of ASEAN

Laos faces big test at helm of ASEAN

Reuters, Vientiane

Barking orders to his men, the foreman explains the sudden need for haste in sleepy Vientiane.

"This is a very special event and we have to be finished by next month," he says as a new fountain takes shape in the heart of the Lao capital where Southeast Asian leaders will gather for their annual summit in November.

Communist Laos is giving its charming capital a facelift as it sheds 30 years of isolation and steps into its first leadership role as chairman of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

As workers fill potholes, spruce up monuments and race to finish the city's newest hotel, officials are determined to host a successful meeting that will also include leaders from Japan, China, India, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.

"The summit is a historic event for Laos. It is a great honor to been entrusted with this by our colleagues," Prime Minister Bounnyang Vorachit said in an interview. "It will be a practical demonstration of our open policy to the rest of the world".

But the tiny landlocked country of 5.5 million people faces a big test at the helm of a 500 million strong, 10 nation grouping.

Laos, which joined ASEAN in 1997, takes over at a time of security worries following the latest Indonesian bombing, complex trade negotiations and Western impatience at ASEAN's kid-glove handling of Myanmar.

"The fact is that you have a member with limited capacity and it raises questions about whether they can cope," said Chin Kin Wah, a senior fellow at the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

"It's not just a logistical challenge, but it has to do with the type of initiatives we can expect from them," he said.

Laos, a one-party communist state since the 1975 overthrow of its monarchy, will lean heavily on big brother Vietnam and to a lesser extent on its key trading partner Thailand, said Grant Evans, a Laos expert at the University of Hong Kong.

"Vietnam will help a lot on policy and that will reinforce ASEAN's conservative tendencies," he said, pointing to the group's mantra of non-interference in each other's affairs.

That policy has been criticized by Western governments demanding tougher action on Myanmar's human rights record and the detention of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

"We will try indirectly to promote peace and security in Myanmar, but Laos respects the principle of non-interference," said Prime Minister Bounnyang.

The Lao human rights record will also come under scrutiny.

The government denies reports of Hmong rebels -- who fought alongside the United States during the Vietnam War -- still hiding in remote jungles and facing attacks by government troops.

"Laos always digs in its heels and says nothing is happening. It is indicative of how they view foreign policy," Evans said.