Summit strengthens ASEAN

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)

Editorial -- Page 4