ASEAN foreign ministers express concerns of marginalization

ASEAN's foreign ministers linked arms during Monday's meeting

July 25, 2000
Web posted at: 9:23 a.m. HKT (0123 GMT)

BANGKOK, Thailand (Reuters) -- Southeast Asian foreign ministers warned on Monday their bloc risked being marginalized unless it woke up and responded to its numerous problems, but looked set to offer few concrete solutions.

A draft of the final communique of ministers of the 10-nation Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), obtained by Reuters on Monday, offered no commitment to tackle most of the problems that have engulfed the region in recent years.

VIDEO North Korea's attendance at the ASEAN forum is being viewed as a positive step, according to CNN's John Raedler Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     AUDIO CNN's Bangkok Bureau Chief John Raedler comments on the ASEAN talks 257k/12 sec. AIFF or WAV sound     RESOURCES TIME: Lumbering to the Line     QUICK VOTE Do you think ASEAN has a clear plan when it comes to resolving regional crises? Yes No View Results    BACKGROUND ASEAN The Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Founded in 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines. ASEAN's aim was to form an alliance that would provide an economic support base for members, allowing them to accelerate growth levels. There was also a desire to maintain regional security against the backdrop of Chinese threats to export revolution to Southeast Asian nations. Brunei joined in 1984. Membership came to Vietnam in 1995. Myanmar and Laos were admitted in 1997 and Cambodia in 1999. With Cambodia's entry, the ASEAN region has a population of about 500 million people.

Aside from vague support for greater regional cooperation and praise for efforts by its members to tackle their host of social problems, the envoys will pledge few solid policies or new programmes, according to the draft, due to be issued on Tuesday.

ASEAN documents are frequently drawn up weeks ahead of ministerial meetings by senior officials and final versions rarely differ significantly from late drafts.

Opening the 33rd ASEAN ministerial meeting, Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai delivered a stark message:

"Issues such as illicit drugs, trafficking of women and children, transnational crime and environmental degradation all represent obstacles to our development."

Singapore Foreign Minister Shanmugam Jayakumar said the international perception of ASEAN remained negative and the group risked being marginalized in the new global economy.

"We may not like the perception of ASEAN as ineffective and a sunset organization," he said. "If we continue to be perceived as ineffective, we can be marginalized as our dialogue partners and international investors relegate us to the sidelines."

Chuan said cooperation should be deepened now that ASEAN included all 10 countries in Southeast Asia.

Cambodia joined to complete the so-called ASEAN 10 in 1999, sitting alongside Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

But the draft communique dismissed many of the region's crises in a handful of paragraphs, saying merely that ASEAN remained committed to developing "as a concert of nations."

It pledged stronger cooperation on "transnational issues affecting the region, especially those related to environment, trafficking in persons, trafficking of illicit drugs, transnational crime and HIV/AIDS."

The regionwide smog from forest fires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra that has blanketed parts of Southeast Asia in recent weeks was referred to as a "haze."

The ministers "noted the progress made in implementing the Regional Haze Action Plan" and "underlined the importance of strong commitments and concerted efforts" of regional committees.

Smog returned to large parts of Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia this month, three years after a choking smoke cloud forced ASEAN governments to promise action to tackle the problem.

The draft communique said a paper proposing to streamline ASEAN's decision making with a three-country "troika" was approved, but gave no details.

Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan told reporters on Monday the idea of a troika, modelled on a European Union system of using present, past and future presidents to take pressing decisions, would be agreed by ministers on Tuesday.

The draft also reaffirmed ASEAN's pledge to support the territorial integrity of Indonesia, including the provinces of Aceh and Irian Jaya, both of which have separatist movements.

The Indonesian Moluccas islands, scene of bloody carnage between Moslems and Christians since early 1999, was not mentioned. Thousands have died in that conflict.

Faced with a growing drugs menace and the world's second largest opium and heroin production area in one of its members -- Myanmar -- the ASEAN ministers "took note of the threat of drug abuse and drug trafficking on the security of the ASEAN region."

Surin expressed hope that North Korea would benefit from bilateral discussions ( 238 K/10 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

Host Thailand welcomed the prospect of North Korea's participation for the first time as a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum, a wider consultative security grouping representing 37 countries which meets later this week.

The two-day ASEAN ministers' meeting precedes talks running until July 29 that also involve China, Japan and South Korea and wider bilaterals and regional security discussions bringing in the United States, Russia and the European Union among others.

"(North Korea's participation) will certainly bode well for peace, for trade, for investment, for tourism, everybody will gain," Surin said.

The United States said on Sunday it was still unclear whether U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright would meet North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-Sun on Wednesday, because of the ongoing Middle East peace talks.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)
CIA -- The World Factbook 1999 -- Thailand

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