Malaysia against interference in ASEAN

Malaysia against interference in ASEAN

BANGKOK (Agencies): Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
said yesterday he objected to outside powers interfering in ASEAN
and Asia-Pacific security, economic and human rights affairs.

Speaking at a summit of Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) leaders in Bangkok, Mahathir said ASEAN's booming economy
carried enough clout to counter this kind of interference, but
unity was the key to achieving the objective.

"We should not be listening to outside advice about our
security needs. We should be on guard against becoming a pawn in
global politics ostensibly in the interest of regional security,"
he said in his opening speech.

"We have heard enough from the Europeans about democracy and
human rights. We have been threatened with trade sanctions...they
have lectured us about how to manage our environment and conserve
our forests," he said.

"I think the time has come for us to put across, candidly and
honestly, our own viewpoints on these matters.

"We do have the necessary clout as a group and if we remain
strongly united we should be a credible force which others would
need to reckon with," Mahathir said.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

It has a combined population of 411 million and its share of
global trade is in excess of US$498 billion, comparing favorably
with the shares of China, Japan and South Korea, he said.

The ASEAN members and non-members Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia
are due to sign a treaty today making the region a nuclear
weapon-free zone.

The five nuclear powers, led by the United States and China,
have refused to endorse the pact.

Washington says the pact may be too restrictive and impinge on
existing defense arrangements. China is concerned the treaty
could have implications on its claims to some islands in the
South China Sea which are also claimed by some ASEAN members.

In another development, Mahathir yesterday lobbied ASEAN
leaders at a summit here to push for the formation of the
controversial East Asia Economic Caucus (EAEC).

The EAEC mooted by Mahathir five years ago had been stalled by
opposition from the United States, which perceives it as a
budding trade bloc, and Japan's reluctance to join for fear of
antagonizing Washington.

Although it was endorsed at the 1992 ASEAN summit as a caucus
within the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC),
several of Malaysia's counterparts in the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with strong US trading ties had
shown a lukewarm response to forming the caucus.

"I still believe that, with a little bit of persistence on the
part of ASEAN, the EAEC can yet be formalized as a caucus within
APEC and as a forum for discussion for common East Asian
problems," Mahathir said.

The Malaysian leader, frustrated by the resistance to his
brainchild, said he wanted to seek "frank discussions" with his
ASEAN counterparts on the caucus, which Malaysian officials said
could take off even without Japan.

But an East Asian caucus without Japan would lack economic
clout, they admitted.

"I do believe that with sufficient determination and
convergence of views, we can exert influence to protect and
promote our own interest," Mahathir asserted.

But the final draft declaration of the summit to be adopted by
the leaders today obtained by AFP only made a brief mention of
the EAEC, reaffirming ASEAN's commitment "to continue with the
efforts to advance further the EAEC."