Thailand, S'pore support summit

Thailand, S'pore support summit

SINGAPORE (Reuter): Thailand and Singapore support Japan's
call for summit meetings at least once a year with the
Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) to deepen ties with the
region, the Thai foreign minister said yesterday.

"We both support Japan," Prachuab Chaiyasan told a briefing
following talks with Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.
"We think that ASEAN-10 in the future will be a very good region
for Japan's investments."

ASEAN, which groups Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, Brunei and Vietnam, has agreed to admit
Laos, Cambodia and Burma together at some time in the future,
making 10 members in total.

Some analysts have suggested ASEAN may admit the three states
this year to coincide with its 30th anniversary.

Last month Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto said in
Singapore it was necessary to strengthen policy dialog between
Japan and ASEAN at various levels because of the increasing
importance of the grouping.