No consensus on Cambodia's entry into ASEAN

No consensus on Cambodia's entry into ASEAN

HANOI (Agencies): Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) still have not reached a consensus on Cambodia's admission to the regional grouping, the ASEAN secretary general said on Tuesday.

"There is no consensus so the foreign ministers will have to continue dealing with it," Rudolfo Severino told AFP in an interview.

He said ASEAN foreign ministers have been consulting continuously by telephone, but would only take a decision at the earliest on Saturday when they meet in Hanoi.

"In the end this will be a political decision, and in the case that it is made, we will be ready," he added.

Severino said the ASEAN secretariat had prepared all the necessary documents to make a speedy admission if a decision was reached, which would enable Cambodia to participate as a member at the ASEAN Summit on Dec. 15 and 16.

He declined to elaborate on how far the nine ASEAN member countries were from reaching consensus.

Cambodia had been scheduled to join ASEAN in July 1997, but its admission was put on hold after then-second premier Hun Sen ousted first prime minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh amid heavy fighting in Phnom Penh.

Last week, Cambodia's National Assembly overwhelmingly approved a coalition government between Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party and the royalist FUNCINPEC party, led by Prince Ranariddh which had finished second in the election.

Officials meeting for two days are expected to put the finishing touches on the Hanoi Declaration and Plan of Action to be issued at the conclusion of the ASEAN Summit.

In Phnom Penh, Cambodian officials expressed hope on Tuesday that the country's return to the United Nations would pave the way for the resumption of crucial foreign assistance.

They also dismissed concern that Cambodia might not be ready to join ASEAN but opposition leader Sam Rainsy appealed to ASEAN to reject Cambodia's entry, saying both ASEAN and Cambodia would be damaged if Cambodia were to be let in now.

"I warmly welcome the return of our seat at the United Nations," former senior co-premier and now National Assembly president, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, told reporters.

Cambodia regained its UN seat on Monday after an absence of more than a year due to political turmoil and the bloody collapse of a previous coalition government.

"We need a lot from the United Nations for rehabilitating the country in all fields, economic and social rehabilitation like infrastructure and roads," Ranariddh said.

Several countries canceled aid programs to Cambodia after then Ranariddh was deposed in July 1997.

Millions of dollars of aid were also put on hold.

The UN credentials committee decided to leave Cambodia's seat vacant when it was claimed by rival factions two months after the coup. But on Monday, the General Assembly endorsed a report by the committee recommending acceptance of the delegation appointed by the country's new government.

Ranariddh said some ASEAN members such as the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore still had some concerns about Cambodia's political stability and readiness to join the group but he dismissed their worries.

"I am convinced there will be political stability," he said. "We have been ready to be a member of ASEAN since 1997."

Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Tam Chien said on Tuesday he was optimistic Cambodia would be formally admitted to ASEAN -- which also groups Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam -- at its annual summit in Hanoi next week.