Singapore suggests Myanmar forego 2006 ASEAN chair

Singapore suggests Myanmar forego 2006 ASEAN chair

Geert De Clercq, Reuters/Singapore

Singapore, Southeast Asia's wealthiest nation, suggested on
Thursday that military-ruled Myanmar forego its chairmanship of
the ASEAN grouping next year because of international concerns
over its human rights record.

The United States and the European Union have threatened to
boycott high-level meetings with the 10-member Association of
South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) if Myanmar takes the rotating
chairmanship without making progress on human rights, including
freeing opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

In an article in the Financial Times, Singapore Foreign
Minister George Yeo said that ASEAN foreign ministers agreed at a
a meeting in April that the organization should not take away the
chairmanship from any country, but Myanmar had assured the
grouping that it would take ASEAN's interest into account.

"ASEAN foreign ministers took this to mean that Myanmar would
voluntarily forego its turn to chair. This would be a good
solution," Yeo wrote. His office refused to elaborate.

Singapore is the largest exporter to Myanmar and its second-
largest trading partner after Thailand, according to official
Myanmar data.

At a security conference in Singapore at the weekend, Myanmar
hinted it may be working on an alternative solution.

Asked whether Myanmar would give in to international pressure
and relinquish the ASEAN chair, Myanmar Deputy Minister for
Foreign Affairs U Maung Myint told Reuters that the country is
"preparing another situation". He declined to elaborate.

The issue has threatened the unity of ASEAN, with some
countries opposing Myanmar's chairmanship unless it shows
concrete progress in implementing a roadmap to democracy.

Diplomats say a Myanmar chair could isolate and diminish ASEAN
as the U.S. and Europe would stay away from key meetings and
switch to bilateral contacts with member states.

"If Myanmar were to chair the ASEAN, we would not engage as
much with the organization, but we would remain engaged with
individual member states," a U.S. embassy official told Reuters.

Tim Huxley, Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific Security at the
International Institute for Strategic Studies, said that matters
of pride make it very difficult for Myanmar to forego the chair.

"If they did become chairman, this would be presented
internally as reaffirming the legitimacy of the regime and the
fact that the regime has an important role to play regionally."

Huxley added that it was very unlikely that Myanmar would
leave the grouping which it only joined in 1997.

"ASEAN is an alternative to complete reliance on China, and it
opens up economic cooperation with Southeast Asia," he said.

On Wednesday, Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda told
a parliamentary hearing that his feeling from the April meeting
of foreign ministers in the Philippines island of Cebu was that
Myanmar would probably not take its turn.

"We openly said (to Myanmar) that when the situation in your
country is ready, you will not need to wait until the other nine
get their chairmanship turns. Just slip in," he said.

Thai Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon said on Thursday
that whether Myanmar took its turn would depend on the progress
of its political reforms.

"If Myanmar were to postpone the chairmanship, we hope that
the postponement would not have to be too long. If real progress
can take place, then Myanmar will not have to wait another 10
years to become chairman," he told reporters in Bangkok.

The chairmanship rotates in alphabetical order and is now held
by Laos, where ASEAN foreign ministers will meet in July. Hassan
said he expected a decision on the issue there.