N. Korea joins ASEAN Regional Forum
N. Korea joins ASEAN Regional Forum
By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat
BANGKOK (JP): North Korea was inducted into the region's
premier security forum here on Thursday, further raising hope of
mollifying one of the region's potential flashpoints.
North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-Sun, took his seat
among his 22 other counterparts here at the annual ASEAN Regional
Forum (ARF) amid positive signs of reconciliation on the Korean
peninsula.
Even if there seemed to be few concrete results coming out of
the multi-issue meeting, there was an overall ease and exuberance
that the presence of the North Koreans was a significant step
forward in paving the way for better regional harmony and
stability, which is the ultimate purpose of the ARF.
"At the end of the day it makes a great deal more sense to
have dialog with North Korea than to freeze them out of regional
and international arrangements," Australian Foreign Minister
Alexander Downer said.
Hosted on a rotational basis by the members of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam -- the ARF also includes Australia, Canada,
China, the European Union, India, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand,
North Korea, Papua New Guinea, Russia, South Korea and the United
States.
But there were some notable absentees in this year's meeting.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab was represented by his
Director General for Political Affairs Hassan Wirajuda because he
had to return to Indonesia to attend a party congress, while
United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was not
expected to arrive until later Thursday night and was represented
by her deputy, Strobe Talbott. Philippines Foreign Minister
Domingo L. Siazon was also absent as he was accompanying his
president on a visit to the United States.
TMD
One of the strongest open censures at the Forum meeting was
actually directly against the United States, when China and
Russia used the opportunity to express their disapproval of
Washington's "Cold War mentality" by pursuing its Theater Missile
Defense (TMD) program.
Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said the program was
"against the tide of our times".
"The Cold War mentality is still affecting the way some
countries perceive world politics and international relations,"
Tang said.
He described Washington's pursuit of the program as one that
compromised regional confidence building measures and as
"aggravating the instability of the region".
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov warned that plans to
deploy anti-missile shields in Northeast Asia could spark a new
global arms race.
Describing it as a matter of "deep concern", Ivanov told the
23 delegates at the Forum that "further strategic arms reductions
would become impossible and the entire system of arms reduction
and limitation agreements would be revised".
Talks on the missile issue are expected to come to the fore
again here on Friday in a highly anticipated meeting between
Albright and Paek Nam-Sun.
The 36-point statement also included an expression of support
for Indonesia.
"The ministers agreed that a united, democratic and
economically prosperous Indonesia was fundamental to the
maintenance of regional security," the statement said. "In this
context, they emphasized their support for the sovereignty,
territorial integrity and national unity of Indonesia".
On the East Timor issue, the ministers in the ARF statement
said they "deplored" the recent death of a UN peacekeeper in East
Timor and emphasized the need for further collective action to
resolve the refugee problem, including dealing with the
continuing militia activity.
Regarding the regional situation as a whole, the ARF statement
said the security outlook in the Asia-Pacific "remained
positive".
Without being specific, the statement nevertheless
acknowledged there were still a few "uncertainties and
challenges" which would require the attention of the ARF,
particularly those posed by globalization.