Malaysia to reject APEC trade pact
Malaysia to reject APEC trade pact
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia yesterday reasserted its objection to a plan for an APEC free trade pact by 2020, saying that while Australia had the right to push for it, Kuala Lumpur had the right to reject it.
"It is their right to push... We also have the right to reject," said Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, reacting to reports that his Australian counterpart Paul Keating was pushing hard for the ambitious deal at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum meeting in Bogor, Indonesia, on Nov. 15.
Mahathir, who locked horns with Keating after being called a recalcitrant by the Australian for shunning the APEC summit in Seattle last year, said this time he would attend the meeting to reaffirm Malaysia's stance.
Analysts believe that Malaysia would prefer advancing its idea for an economic caucus for East Asia, as it has repeatedly opposed moves to institutionalize APEC, saying it was meant to remain a loose economic forum.
The Mahathir-initiated East Asia Economic Caucus (EAEC), aiming to be a loose consultative forum for East Asian economies, has long been stalled by U.S. objections to what it sees as a new trade bloc.
Malaysia's International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz said on Tuesday that APEC had no mandate to draw up a deadline for the creation of a free trade zone.
"We have already stated our stand earlier. I have no mandate to change this stand," Mahathir was reported as saying by the Bernama news agency.
Mahathir said he was not expected to meet separately with U.S. President Bill Clinton while in Bogor.
"In Seattle the last time around, he (Clinton) was the host so he met each and everyone. But this time we will be meeting him in his capacity as a fellow participant," Mahathir said.
APEC, formed in 1989, groups the six members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand -- and Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan and the United States.