PMC fails to agree on crucial questions

From: The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA (JP): Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their dialog partners ended their three days of talks yesterday, remaining as far apart as they began on many major issues.

While ministers claimed the meetings were "cordial and amiable", questions on a nuclear free zone, social issues in trade, Myanmar and human rights remained unresolved.

The issue which dominated and overshadowed any real success of the meetings was Myanmar.

The United States, Australia, Canada and representatives from the European Union expressed a great deal of concern at the meetings toward Yangon's poor human rights record.

ASEAN, however, has refrained from joining the chorus of disapproval, maintaining that it is an internal affair of Yangon.

ASEAN, which groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, held their annual Regional Forum (the ARF) meeting here on Tuesday to discuss regional political and security issues.

The one-day forum brings together ASEAN observers -- Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Papua New Guinea -- along with 10 dialog partners; Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia, the United States and the European Union.

The ARF meeting was then followed by a two-day Post Ministerial Conference (PMC) between ASEAN and its dialog partners.

U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher said the meetings were a good chance to raise concerns with the Myanmarese foreign minister directly.

ASEAN's reluctance to discuss the issue was evident as it omitted discussions on Myanmar from the formal agenda of the ARF.

"Frankly we were surprised to arrive here and find that Burma (Myanmar) was not on the agenda for the formal session of the ARF," Christopher said.

While there was strong opinions expressed during the ARF, the ASEAN-led forum did not include the question of human rights or Myanmar in its final Chairman's Statement.

Yesterday Christopher noted that the U.S. was not alone in focusing concerns on Myanmar. "I'm glad that we were joined in the meeting here by Australia, New Zealand, the E.U. and Canada, so, I don't feel as lonely as I might be," he remarked.

Proposals from Canada to set up a contact group to draw out a dialog with Yangon also received a less then enthusiastic reception from ASEAN officials.

At the joint press conference yesterday Canadian foreign minister Lloyd Axworthy remained upbeat: "A proposal's a proposal. We are looking for any kind of vehicle that will enable us to maintain that sort of an incremental development," he said.

European Union Vice-President Manuel Marin, who has been a vocal critic of Yangon, said yesterday that he was pleased that at least the situation was being addressed.

The meeting's chairman, Indonesia's foreign minister Ali Alatas, remained positive, saying "the discussions were able to shed greater light on both sides of each other's perceptions and positions and in that sense I think it was positive and productive."

Another issue which remained unresolved were calls to support the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty. During the meetings ASEAN failed to secure the United States' guaranteed commitment to accede to its protocol.

While Russia and the United States expressed general support for the nuclear weapons free zone established by ASEAN leaders in December, ministers stated that the ultimate factor would be the current review of the protocol to address the various objections.

Apart from a statement backing a quick end to negotiations on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), ministers made little headway in coming to a common position which would expedite the negotiations. India, who has tied approving the CTBT to disarmament conditions, remain unmoved despite the talks here.

The meetings here yesterday also seemed only to harden battle lines on the West's insistence on including social issues such as labor rights in the upcoming World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in Singapore in December.

ASEAN maintains that such issues should not be raised at forums such as the WTO.

While divisions were many, ministers yesterday expressed their overall satisfaction with the meetings. (pwn/rid/mds)

JP/PMC fails to agree on crucial questions