Summit strengthens ASEAN
JAKARTA (JP): The weekend summit that brought together leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has strengthened the organization's stance on various issues, political observers say.
Dewi F. Anwar of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences singled out ASEAN's refusal to include extraneous issues, such as East Timor, in its cooperation framework with other countries. The reluctance, she said, will help boost the group's leverage.
"It sends a strong signal to the European Union," Dewi told The Jakarta Post by phone yesterday.
ASEAN heads of state at the end of their first informal summit on Saturday issued a statement expressing "concern" that a member of the European Union included certain extraneous issues in the cooperation framework between the two regional groupings.
The statement warned of "unwarranted aggravation" if it was pursued further.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas disclosed that Indonesia had proposed the statement and that it received full support from the members: Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Alatas admitted that Portugal was the country meant in the statement.
Kusnanto Anggoro of the Center for Strategic and International Studies concurred with Dewi.
He told the Post separately that in the future issues such as human rights will increasingly be tagged on by the West as conditions for dialog. By issuing a statement, ASEAN's leaders made a stand and asserted their positions.
"There may be some good in our consolidation," Kusnanto remarked.
He added that the statement is also a clear signal of ASEAN's confidence vis-a-vis other more developed groupings.
"It reinforces ASEAN as a regional block," said Kusnanto.
Despite ASEAN's caution, neither Dewi nor Kusnanto believes the overall relationship between ASEAN and the European Union will be disrupted by the statement.
Dewi said both sides recognize the need for each other.
Kusnanto was more pragmatic: "The politics will continue, but on the other side, the economics will also go on."
Dewi, however, had strong words about the decision of ASEAN's leaders to admit Myanmar along with Cambodia and Laos.
She said that while no country is perfect in its human rights record, ASEAN should not have turned a blind eye to the recent crackdowns in Myanmar.
Unlike the question of East Timor, which focuses mainly on human rights, Dewi said Myanmar is more suspect due to questions about the legitimacy of the current regime in Yangon.
She argued that ASEAN should have maintained some leverage to foster positive changes in the country.
Myanmar has pushed to be admitted into ASEAN at the same time as Cambodia and Laos, who applied for membership much earlier. ASEAN leaders on Saturday agreed that all three should be admitted simultaneously, but left the timing unclear.
ASEAN ministers, to the surprise of many, even rejected the widely held understanding that Cambodia and Laos would be admitted next year.
While all support Myanmar's eventual entry, some members prior to Saturday expressed reservations about Yangon being admitted in 1997. After the meeting, the leaders claimed to hold only one view.
"Sounds like double speak to me," quipped Dewi, adding that leaving the exact timing up in the air "does give the indication of debate on this within ASEAN."
ASEAN watchers have been left perplexed by the sudden regression and the association's mundane way of discreetly postponing controversial issues until a more convenient time.
Another topic thrown on the back burner was the proposal of a common ASEAN time zone. The adoption of a common time would force several ASEAN members to reschedule their national times.
In their statement, the heads of government deferred the question and agreed to review the matter between the 2000 and 2003.
Other matters taken up in the 16-point statement was an endorsement of the basic framework of the ASEAN-Mekong Basin development cooperation, and formation of an ASEAN Foundation to promote people-to-people contact.
The heads of government also affirmed their commitment to seek a peaceful solution to the dispute in the South China Sea, expedite ratification of the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapons Free Zone treaty. Relevant ASEAN bodies were also instructed to finalize protocol revisions.
The statement further expressed support for cooperation on criminal matters and exchanged views on the proposed ASEAN Vision beyond 2003.
It was agreed that ASEAN's 30th anniversary celebrations would be held at the second informal summit in Kuala Lumpur in 1997. (mds)
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