RP asked to be ready to lead ASEAN

RP asked to be ready to lead ASEAN

The Philippines has been asked by some of its neighbors to be ready to assume the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), amid signs that Myanmar may skip its turn next year, a senior foreign affairs official said on Monday.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo told Filipino diplomats in a recent meeting that the Philippines would agree to assume the role if Myanmar passes, the official said on condition of anonymity.

U.S., European and Canadian officials, citing Myanmar's dismal human rights record, have threatened to boycott ASEAN meetings if the military-ruled nation takes its turn as chairman of the regional trading bloc, the official said. There are fears that Western nations could withhold crucial funding for ASEAN development projects.

ASEAN foreign ministers meet in Laos later this month, with the chairmanship issue on their agenda.

Diplomats from Singapore and Cambodia are among those who have asked the Philippines to be ready to take the prestigious role, which is rotated alphabetically every year among ASEAN's 10 member countries, the official said.

The official said diplomats from the two countries, who have met Myanmar officials recently, said there were "strong hints" that Myanmar would skip its turn.

ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong said on Monday that Myanmar's junta is expected to use the foreign ministers meeting in Vientiane to announce it will skip its chairmanship.

"The indication, as of a few weeks ago, is that they would announce something in which they will try to excuse themselves from this onerous task," he told Reuters.

"In the light of what's happening now, I think that would be a good idea, good politics," Ong said, referring to threats from Washington and Europe to boycott any meetings with ASEAN.

ASEAN members normally follow a cardinal policy of noninterference in each other's domestic affairs and resistance to foreign pressure.

Philippine officials have refused to publicly discuss the chairmanship issue.

Many ASEAN members, including the Philippines, have urged Myanmar's ruling junta to hasten promised democratic reforms, release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, craft a new constitution and allow a UN special envoy to visit.

Indonesian, Malaysian and Philippine legislators have also opposed Myanmar's chairmanship, warning that ASEAN could lose credibility.

The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962, and the current junta came to power in 1988 after crushing a pro-democracy uprising. It called elections in 1990 but refused to hand over power when Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, won in a landslide. -- Agencies