Malaysia to propose ASEAN defense ministers meeting
Malaysia to propose ASEAN defense ministers meeting
Agencies, Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia is calling on Southeast Asian defense ministers to meet next year for the first time to discuss regional security, news reports said on Sunday.
"The time has come for us to also discuss defense issues and not just foreign or economic policies," the Mingguan Malaysia newspaper quoted Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar as saying.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations has never held a meeting of defense ministers due to its policy of not interfering in each other's internal affairs.
However, Syed Hamid said discussing security issues would not violate that principle.
"It also does not go against the ASEAN Cooperation Agreement and is in line with the United Nations Charter," the paper quoted him as saying.
Syed Hamid reiterated his statement on Friday that ASEAN countries should be open with each other in discussing internal security problems, since they could affect other countries in the region, the national news agency Bernama said.
"We are of the view that whether we like it or not, an incident (in one country) has spillover effects," he said. "Therefore, we cannot close our ears and eyes and take the don't- want-to-know attitude."
Syed Hamid did not elaborate on the kind of openness Malaysia would like to see in discussions on security, but he has previously said that ASEAN members should share intelligence and crack down on extremist groups deemed to be a cross-border threat.
Southeast Asia faces security threats from militant groups such as the al-Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah and the Philippines- based Abu Sayyaf, which have been accused of carrying out bombings, kidnappings and other attacks in the region.
Malaysia, meanwhile, is concerned about violence in neighboring Thailand, whose southern provinces are in the grip of an Islamic insurgency.
Mingguan Malaysia said Syed Hamid proposed that the defense ministers meet next year in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian officials could not be reached on Sunday for comment.
The minister also said Malaysia had proposed a separate meeting of defense ministers at the ASEAN Regional Forum level, which encompasses ASEAN and 15 dialogue partners, including the United States, India, Japan and China.
A meeting of ARF foreign ministers in July concluded its annual round of talks by pledging to step up intelligence sharing on terrorism.