Link between ASEAN and Australasia explored

Link between ASEAN and Australasia explored

WELLINGTON (Reuter): ASEAN is likely to move towards closer relations with Australasia but the idea of integrating the two trade zones has yet to win full acceptance from all members, Thailand's deputy foreign minister said on Friday.

Surin Pitsuwan said most of ASEAN's six members supported expanded ties with Australia and New Zealand and that formalizing links would be a question of tactics and timing.

"All the ASEAN countries will have to decide that together. I think we have the support of the majority...it is now under active discussion," he told a news conference in Wellington.

The six members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand -- are grouped in the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA).

"The idea is not that AFTA will exclude anybody, but we have to find a legitimate reason for AFTA to include more (countries)," Pitsuwan said after talks with New Zealand Foreign Minister Don McKinnon.

"The entire ASEAN membership will have to be convinced." Over time, he expected a "very high degree of integration" with the Closer Economic Relationship (CER) trade zone linking Australia and New Zealand.

Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating spoke enthusiastically in support of closer ASEAN-CER ties during a visit to Thailand in April, while New Zealand is fast expanding trade with the region.

Pitsuwan said bilateral trade with New Zealand had expanded fivefold within five years, with a balance of US$200 million in Wellington's favor.

He highlighted New Zealand's expertise in telecommunications, forestry, agriculture and the environment as of special interest to Southeast Asian markets.