NZ and Australia welcome ASEAN's move on E. Asia summit
NZ and Australia welcome ASEAN's move on E. Asia summit
Agencies, Wellington/Canberra
New Zealand may sign the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) non-aggression treaty, paving the way for it to attend
the first East Asian summit in Kuala Lumpur in December, Foreign
Minister Phil Goff said on Tuesday.
But New Zealand would not accede to the Treaty of Amity and
Cooperation (TAC) just to get an invitation to the meeting, Goff
told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
He said that while New Zealand would welcome being invited to
the inaugural summit, it saw accession to the treaty as
"essentially symbolic", indicating its desire to maintain a
friendly relationship with the 10-nation regional grouping and
that it would make that decision on its merits.
Prime Minister Helen Clark discussed it with President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono when he visited Wellington recently, saying
later: "ASEAN nations, including Indonesia, regard the Treaty of
Amity and Cooperation as a touchstone of the importance placed on
the relationship.
"We see it as very significant in firming up and strengthening
the relations we have with Southeast Asia generally."
Meanwhile, Australia's foreign minister on Tuesday welcomed a
decision by the (ASEAN) to let Australia, New Zealand and India
join the summit if they meet certain conditions.
But Foreign Minister Alexander Downer would not say if
Australia will sign an ASEAN nonaggression pact - one of the
conditions for participating in the inaugural East Asian summit
slated for December.
Australia in the past has ruled out signing the treaty, saying
it would conflict with its 54-year-old defense treaty with the
United States. Just last week, Prime Minister John Howard told
his Malaysian counterpart Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that Australia
would not sign it.
Australia's refusal to sign the pact could hinder its bid for
a place at the East Asian summit, which the foreign ministers of
the 10 ASEAN nations decided Monday to hold with economic
powerhouses China, Japan and South Korea.
Downer said on Tuesday that he had spoken with Indonesian
Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda, and the two had agreed to
further discuss the treaty issue.
Downer also said Australia's refusal to sign the treaty would
not automatically exclude it from the East Asian Summit.
"The trouble with diplomacy is it's never quite so black and
white and simple as the way it's sometimes presented to the
public by the media," Downer told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
radio.
"We'll be having some discussions about this, but I think that
on balance it's a positive outcome and we will be looking forward
to talking these issues through further," he added.
China, Japan and South Korea will attend the summit and India,
New Zealand and Australia are other dialogue partners who have
expressed interest in being there.
Australia and the United States have declined to sign the
treaty but Goff said the New Zealand government would make its
own independent decision.