Thailand concerned over security in South China Sea
By Pandaya
BANGKOK (JP): Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai expressed concern yesterday over security in the South China Sea, calling for "preventive diplomacy" to settle the smoldering conflict over the Spratly Islands.
"The competition for ocean space and resources in the South China Sea is a particularly worrisome prospect," Chuan said when opening the 27th ASEAN Foreign Ministerial Meeting.
"We appreciate Indonesia's ongoing effort to provide a forum for peacefully settling this potentially explosive issue in the spirit of the ASEAN Declaration on South China Sea," he said.
Security and stability in the South China Sea is a burning issue in the meeting attended by Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Vietnam and Laos, which have both applied for ASEAN membership, are attending as invited observers. Cambodia is attending as the guest of ASEAN and Myanmar as guest of the host country Thailand.
Peaceful settlement of the conflicting claims to the potentially oil-rich Spratly Islands in the South China Sea is expected to top the agenda when ASEAN foreign ministers meet with their consultative partners, China and Russia and dialog partners, the United States, Canada, the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan.
China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia have laid claims to part or all of the sprawling string of tiny islands.
Indonesia has initiated four seminars to help seek a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Chuan also raised concern over a regional arms race and proposed the formation of some kind of regional arms control regime to deter arms build-up.
He warned that other issues, such as the illegal movement of people, drug trafficking, human rights abuses, ethnic conflicts and environmental degradation could pose a threat to stability and security in Southeast Asia.
In the post-Cold War era, ASEAN should cling to its principle of free and equitable association among states and tackle potentially disruptive issues like territorial disputes with new approaches and strategies, Chuan said.
Protectionist
He called for better economic cooperation among member states through the implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (Afta) and collaboration with other Southeast Asian countries.
"Afta, which signifies a regional building bloc for global trade liberation, should not fail if we want to keep ASEAN economies at the forefront in this changing environment."
With the proposed East Asian Economic Caucus, ASEAN will gain more confidence in its pro-active orientation, he added.
The caucus, proposed by Malaysia, has not been discussed much in the meeting even though Kuala Lumpur is determined to press ahead with it.
ASEAN, Chuan said, should support the recent conclusion of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations and the establishment of the World Trade Organization because they were in line with its advocacy for open regionalism, and elimination of trade barriers.
He said the Uruguay Round did not settle a potential controversy along the North-South divide, namely the concern of developing countries about protectionist trends in developed nations.
"Of particular concern is protectionism against textile and agricultural products," he said.
Chuan echoed the growing anxiety about an emerging practice among developed countries of linking trade and aid issues with socio-political conditions in the developing world.
He said ASEAN should use the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum to further the regional growth and dynamism in the Southeast Asian region.
Thai Foreign Minister Prasong Soonsiri was elected chairman of this year's annual meeting and his Brunei counterpart Prince Mohamed Bolkiah vice chairman.