Myanmar takes the shine off ASEAN summit diplomacy

Endy M. Bayuni, The Jakarta Post, Kuala Lumpur

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has scored another diplomatic scoop by the having leaders of 17 different countries attend a series of summits in the Malaysian capital this week. Vladimir Putin of Russia, John Howard of Australia and Helen Clark of New Zealand grace the annual ASEAN summit for the first time this year, which also sees the presence of 14 other regular participants.

Among the regulars are Prime Minister of India Mammohan Singh, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, as well as leaders of the 10 ASEAN members.

ASEAN diplomacy stands out even further this time considering that China and South Korea on the one hand, and Japan on the other, are not really on speaking terms over the controversy over Koizumi's regular visits to the Yasukuni shrine. Already, Wen Jiabao has unilaterally canceled the regular informal summit between China, Japan and South Korea that they normally hold on the sidelines of the annual ASEAN summit.

The fact that all three have still come here in spite of their row attests to the importance of the ASEAN summit to them. The challenge will be for ASEAN to mediate between the three countries, which have been at odds literally for centuries.

But this is all the more reason why ASEAN is important in bridging the gap between the major players in the region, and that in any regional forum, ASEAN collectively will be the driving force rather than any one of the three.

Capping the diplomatic feat for host Malaysia, of course, is the inaugural East Asia Summit on Wednesday, which will see the participation of leaders of the 10 ASEAN members, China, Japan, Korea, as well as India, Australia and New Zealand.

Between Monday and Wednesday, more than nine multilateral summits will have been held here, from the ASEAN summit to the ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan, Korea), and the ASEAN Plus One series (with China, Japan, Korea, India and Russia). The leaders in attendance will also take the opportunity of holding bilateral meetings with others.

But the three-day summit fiesta is not without its party pooper: Myanmar.

The controversy over the presence of Myanmar, one of the 10 ASEAN members, has dogged the organization's image and reputation for years, and has even reached a point that raises questions about its credibility.

Breaking with past tradition, ASEAN leaders on Monday raised the issue during their meeting with Myanmar President Gen. Soe Win, and told him that the Yangon regime must release its political prisoners.

The statement by Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, chair of the summit, was still couched in diplomatic niceties although insiders say that ASEAN leaders made it clear that they were not happy with the slow pace of democratic reforms, something that Yangon had promised ASEAN when it joined the group in 1997.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar in contrast was more blunt during a press conference later Monday when he said that ASEAN was looking for more tangible progress. "Words alone are not enough," he said.

"We want to help Myanmar, but Myanmar must help us. How else can we convince the word if they cannot convince us," said Hamid, who had been asked to visit Myanmar in the near future to talk to the regime leaders.

Piling pressure on the ASEAN governments are the calls from ASEAN lawmakers to have Myanmar expelled from the organization altogether, a clear condemnation of the "constructive engagement" policy. Since legislators are not subject to diplomatic protocol, they have no hesitation in denouncing Myanmar's participation in ASEAN as a source of embarrassment.

ASEAN members have persuaded Myanmar to forego its turn at chairing the organization beginning in 2006, and thus averting the embarrassment of a potential embargo by its Western partners in future ASEAN processes. The chair, which rotates between members by alphabetical order, instead goes to the Philippines.

For what it is worth, the ASEAN summit, now in its 11th year, has not only become a regular feature in Asian international affairs each year, but it is also increasingly eclipsing the annual ASEAN ministerial meeting held every July.

The annual meeting of the foreign ministers has been the driving engine for greater integration within the region for much of ASEAN's 38 years of existence. It is also larger in scope as it brings in the United States, Canada, the European Union and Papua New Guinea, as well as those countries already represented in the ASEAN summits. The ASEAN Regional Forum, which is held back to back with the ministerial meeting, has become the place for all major players in the region and the world to discuss global and regional security.

But now with their leaders also meeting every year since 1994, every decision taken at the ministerial level can be quickly endorsed or reviewed by the leaders later in the year, making the ASEAN process even more effective in international affairs.