The Pnom Penh summit

It will be a very encouraging moment for the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) when Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen hosts the ASEAN summit on Monday in Pnom Penh. One day he will later lead the meeting of the 10 regional leaders with the leaders of China, Japan, South Korea, India and South Africa.

International news services reported the concern of foreign diplomats over whether Cambodia, a country with a reputation for lawlessness and notorious crime, could protect its guests during the summit. To a certain extent the concern makes sense, but in view of the country's past difficulties, the summit itself is already a great achievement. The situation in Pnom Penh is also no more chaotic than it is in Jakarta.

Hun Sen, whose country was regarded for years as a pariah state during the genocidal 1975 to 1979 Khmer Rouge regime and the years of civil war that followed, will preside over the meeting to discuss the strategy against security threats for the region and for the world.

When Vietnamese troops drove out Pol Pot in 1979, Vietnam installed a Hanoi-backed government to replace the pro-China reign, which had allegedly butchered up to 2 million people. Slowly Hun Sen proved to the world that he was not just a puppet of Vietnam. He was eventually able to convince his political enemies, even Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk, that they had to deal with him in resolving the problems of Cambodia.

With Indonesia as its main promoter, ASEAN set up peace negotiations. In October 1991, a solution was reached when Indonesia and France jointly presided over the Paris Conference on Cambodia. In 1993 Hun Sen's party won the UN-organized general elections.

However, only six years later was Cambodia able to join ASEAN, due to its unresolved internal conflicts. In 1999 ASEAN leaders might have believed that Cambodia would be its youngest member. However, again they were wrong, because in the same year East Timor decided to separate from Indonesia and later expressed a wish to join the group.

There are, possibly, mixed feelings among Indonesian leaders about Cambodia. Indonesia prides itself as a key peace broker for Cambodia, but at the same time it is ironic that President Megawati Soekarnoputri might need advice from Hun Sen on how to lead a chaotic country.

As at last year's, the terrorism issue will dominate the two- day meeting. Indonesia has not only virtually lost its leadership in ASEAN: At this summit Megawati will also face heavy pressure from other leaders, including Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, to do much more in combating terrorism in her country.

Our neighbors can no longer just wait for Megawati's wisdom. Their national security has been in great danger, and they will do everything to stop the threats.

It will be interesting to observe what Hun Sen will say about Indonesia when he hands his chairmanship over to Megawati. It is ironic that he may use the same advice he received from then president Soeharto during the war and peace process in Cambodia.

Finally, we hope the summit will reach a significant agreement in restoring peace, security and prosperity for the region.