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.