New security forum 'not to override ARF'

New security forum 'not to override ARF'

MANILA (Agencies): A proposal by the Philippines to form a new security forum in Asia will not override the functions of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the body's secretary general Rodolfo Severino said on Friday.

President Joseph Estrada's call to review the functions of the ARF, the region's foremost security forum, is one of the topics that would be discussed in next month's Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) informal summit here with the leaders of China, Japan and South Korea, he said.

"This is a Philippine idea. This has been talked about," Severino told foreign correspondents. "There are things to which ARF is too big and ASEAN is too small."

However, he said ARF will "go on" and in fact is slowly moving into "preventive policy" the second of its three-point mandate, the other two being confidence building and conflict resolution.

ARF includes ASEAN members Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam as well as the group's Asian and Western dialogue partners such as China, Japan, India, South Korea, the United States, Canada and Russia.

On Thursday, Estrada called for a review of the security set up, saying the holes "left gaping by the Cold War" must be filled and new parameters of regional security "must be defined."

Earlier Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon proposed the creation of an East Asian security forum, which would include ASEAN, Japan, China and South Korea, or the so-called ASEAN plus three.

Severino said it was too early to say whether the proposed forum will be agreed upon in next month's summit here, but acknowledged that Estrada, being this year's chairman, has "the advantage."

He also agreed that a "more intensive management" of regional security must be taken, amid criticism the ARF moved too slow in solving regional crises and solving potential flashpoints.

Severino also said that Southeast Asian countries have not abandoned their economic reforms as they recover more quickly than expected from the region's financial crisis.

The secretary general of ASEAN said members of the regional grouping remain committed to the reforms, despite concerns that their motivation would sag as a result of their rapid recovery.

There is "no sign that there is such a slackening," Severino said. "ASEAN is trying to ensure that these reforms continue and that no development that could affect everybody would surprise us again."

Asia's economic crisis, which began in July 1997, has been blamed on government favoritism toward certain companies, inadequate financial regulation, and massive flows of foreign investment.

Severino said ASEAN countries are also working to install "safety nets," such as social security programs and unemployment and medical insurance, to help people cope with any similar crisis in the future.

ASEAN leaders will hold their annual summit next month in Manila amid strong signs that the region is pulling out of the crisis.

Severino said the mood this year is much more buoyant than the gloomy atmosphere a year ago.

Before the Nov. 27-28 summit, ASEAN finance ministers are to review the second report on a regional "surveillance" mechanism, which is meant to alert ASEAN member countries of any sign of impending economic problems.

The first surveillance report released in March covered measures taken by governments to protect the poor, governance issues and resource mobilization. The second report will be "broader and deeper," Severino said, without elaborating.

He said ASEAN has decided to accelerate its economic integration as a response to the crisis and to ensure the continued flow of investments to the region.