[Kabar-indonesia] 7 ASEAN Reports: Israel Rebuked; Economic Integration; Myanmar/Suu Kyi

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

7 ASEAN Reports: 

- Malaysian Prime Minister Rebukes 
  Israel at Asean Meeting

- ASEAN Members Plan Bringing Forward 
  Economic Integration

- Philippine Min: No Plan To Visit Suu Kyi 
  On Myanmar Trip

- Factbox - Penpix of ARF's Big Players
  (ASEAN Regional Forum)

- JP update: ASEAN inks visa-free treaty 

- JP: ASEAN urges resumption of Korea talks 

- ASEAN sends 'strong signal' to Myanmar 
  to speed up reforms 

Associated Press
July 26, 2006

Malaysian Prime Minister
Rebukes Israel at Asean Meeting

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- The Malaysian prime minister, who heads the world's 
largest Islamic political grouping, said Israel's offensive in Lebanon can no 
longer be tolerated and urged the United Nations to enforce an immediate 
cease-fire.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi opened a meeting of the foreign 
ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations yesterday with a 
harsh rebuke against Israel.

"We should condemn Israel's latest use of disproportionate force in Gaza and 
the West Bank," said Mr. Abdullah, who also is chairman of the 57-member 
Organization of the Islamic Conference. "We should not tolerate Israel's excessive 
military reprisals against Lebanon."

The Mideast crisis figured prominently in talks among the ministers, who 
closed the meeting with a joint statement that echoed some of Mr. Abdullah's 
words. The gathering will be followed later in the week by the Asean Regional 
Forum, with participants from Asia and the West, including U.S. Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice.

Ms. Rice is expected in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow after her diplomatic foray in 
the Middle East, where she was trying to push a blanket plan that would call 
for a cease-fire simultaneous with the deployment of international and Lebanese 
troops into southern Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah attacks on Israel.

The 10 Asean countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, 
Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Asean ministers also voiced concern over North Korea's recent missile 
tests and urged the nation and its five dialogue partners to revive their stalled 
nuclear talks at a regional gathering this week.

But hopes remained very small that the discussions would be held on the 
sidelines of ARF, as the annual security conference hosted by Asean is known.

"We...expressed the hope that members of the six-party talks can utilize 
their presence during the ARF to promote the resumption of the talks," the joint 
statement said.

North Korea has boycotted the nuclear talks since November to protest a U.S. 
crackdown on its alleged financial wrongdoing. Pyongyang demands the U.S. lift 
financial restrictions against it, but Washington has showed no sign of 
acceding.

On Myanmar, the Asean ministers expressed concern over its failure to 
democratize and issued a call for the Myanmar junta to free political prisoners 
including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

A joint statement by the ministers didn't specifically mention Ms. Suu Kyi, 
but Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo told reporters the reference was 
clear. "Not by name, but it is quite clear we were referring to her and others," 
he said.

Ms. Suu Kyi, an icon of Myanmar's pro-democracy movement, has been under 
house arrest at various times for 11 of the past 17 years.

But the vague wording in the joint statement also showed Asean's 
unwillingness to collectively criticize a fellow member, although individually Malaysia 
and others have used harsh words. Mr. Yeo said applying too much pressure or 
isolating Myanmar could be counterproductive.

-----------------------------------

ASEAN Members Plan Bringing Forward Economic Integration

KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 (AP) -- Southeast Asia aims to craft a charter by next 
year as part of an effort to bring forward by five years plans to fuse its 
diverse economies into a European-style group, a Cabinet minister said. 

Foreign ministers meeting in Kuala Lumpur have said they discussed ways to 
accelerate the creation of a regional economic community from 2020 to 2015, a 
statement that followed the recent collapse of World Trade Organization talks 
designed to liberalize commerce. 

A charter for the economic integration of the Association of Southeast Asian 
Nations, or ASEAN, is being drafted and may be ready by the time Singapore 
hosts regional heads of state next year, Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo 
said late Tuesday. 

The proposal for the acceleration would be presented to leaders meeting in 
the Philippines at the end of this year, Yeo said. 

The creation of a unified ASEAN bloc by 2015 would allow for a free flow of 
goods, services and human resources across the region, but will not include a 
single currency system, ASEAN officials say. 

Singapore, the most economically advanced nation in the bloc, and Thailand 
promoted the acceleration, Yeo told reporters. 

"The others are not averse to it, but that's for the leaders to decide," he 
said. "It's very important that we integrate ASEAN because the world is 
changing rapidly...No one stands still." 

Yeo's comments came just before ASEAN senior officials and ministers met 
counterparts from India and China Wednesday - the two Asian powerhouses that have 
taken a large chunk of investment out of Southeast Asia. 

A wide economic gulf divides ASEAN's six more developed nations - Malaysia, 
Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand and the Philippines - and its four newer 
members - communist Vietnam and Laos, military-ruled Myanmar and Cambodia in 
a region home to 550 million people. 

Most ASEAN countries keep a tight grip over key industries such as banking, 
health care and transport. Such policies hinder economic progress and 
conformity, analysts say. 

The 39-year-old group's renewed push to become a unified economic bloc comes 
amid concerns the region may be dwarfed by giants China and India. But actual 
economic assimilation in ASEAN - which includes two communist states and a 
military junta - has been sluggish. 

"Right now because we are united, we are able to play a decisive central role 
in Asia," Yeo said. "To continue playing that role, we must be much more 
integrated than we are now." 

------------------------------------

Philippine Min: No Plan To Visit Suu Kyi On Myanmar Trip

KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 (AP)--Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo said 
Wednesday that he would visit military-ruled Myanmar sometime next month but 
would not try to meet with detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. 

Romulo said he has accepted an invitation from Myanmar's military junta for 
him to visit as a Philippine envoy "sometime in August," but specific dates and 
details were still being worked out. 

Romulo, who was attending a conference of the Association of Southeast Asian 
Nations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, told reporters that he would not insist on 
meeting Suu Kyi, who has spent 11 of the past 17 years under house arrest at 
the hands of the ruling junta. 

"There are no preconditions in our acceptance of the invitation," he said. 

Myanmar has become a source of embarrassment to the 10-member Asean, largely 
because the government has failure to fulfill promises to restore democracy 
and free political prisoners, including Suu Kyi. 

Asean foreign ministers this week pressed Myanmar to show "tangible progress" 
on democratic reforms and sought the release of political detainees in a 
joint statement on Tuesday. 

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar made a fact-finding visit to 
Myanmar last March as an Asean envoy, but he was not allowed to meet Nobel 
laureate Suu Kyi and other members of her National League for Democracy party. 

Romulo has indicated that he may raise the issue of political reforms to 
leaders of Myanmar's junta during his visit. 

The Philippines is among the most vocal critics of Myanmar, but Romulo said 
he would "shut his mouth" on the issue of democratic reforms there until Manila 
has assumed Asean's chairmanship later this week from Malaysia. 

Myanmar was forced to give up the rotating chairmanship of Asean this year 
following protests by the United States and Europe. 

Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962, and the current crop of 
generals took power in 1988. They called elections in 1990 but refused to 
recognize the results, which gave a resounding victory to Suu Kyi's party. 

Asean members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the 
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar. 

-------------------------------------

Factbox - Penpix of ARF's Big Players

July 26 (Reuters) - North Korea's nuclear ambitions, the conflict in Lebanon 
and reform in Myanmar will top the agenda at Asia's largest annual security 
gathering, the ASEAN Regional Forum, (ARF), in Kuala Lumpur this Friday. 
Here is some background on key attendees and issues: 

* Condoleezza Rice: The U.S. Secretary of State makes her first ASEAN 
appearance since she replaced Colin Powell and skipped the 2005 meeting. Last Friday 
she blasted North Korea's July 5 missile tests as completely irresponsible, 
but the 51-year old ex-Stanford politics professor also said she would welcome 
any six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear arms on the sidelines. Arriving in 
Kuala Lumpur from the Middle East, her attendance will put the Israeli 
offensive in Lebanon high on the agenda. 

* Paek Nam-sun: The 77-year old North Korean foreign minister boycotted ARF 
in 2001 and 2003 and doubts remain if he will show this year. Paek, in the job 
since 1998, has reportedly agreed to meet Thailand and Malaysia for two-way 
talks at ARF. Analysts say he may ask for a bilateral meeting with Rice, as 
North Korea's missile tests and refusal to return to six-party talks since last 
November, have put its relations with the U.S. centre stage. 

* Christopher Hill: The U.S. special envoy to the six-party talks has said 
Washington is considering five-party talks without North Korea in Malaysia. 
Hill, who has shuttled back and forth between Korea, China and the U.S. for 
months, admitted in July that he was discouraged by North Korea's unapologetic line 
on its missile tests. Appointed Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian 
and Pacific Affairs in August 2005, the career diplomat is also an ex-Ambassador 
to Korea. 

* Taro Aso: Japan's Foreign Minister has called for North Korea to return to 
stalled nuclear talks, and Japan has led international attempts to punish its 
missile tests. The 65-year old hardliner's relations with China are also under 
the spotlight, with a sideline meeting with his Chinese counterpart 
scheduled. Aso, a leading candidate to replace Prime Minister Koizumi this year, has 
irritated China with comments about its military threat and Taiwan since 
becoming foreign minister in October 2005. 
 
* Li Zhaoxing: The Chinese Foreign Minister wants six-party talks with old 
ally North Korea, rather than five-way talks as suggested by U.S. envoy Hill. 
The 65-year old ex-diplomat, foreign minister since 2003, will likely stick to 
the calls for calm that the veto-wielding permanent member of the U.N. Security 
Council made after Pyongyang's tests. 

* Ban Ki-moon: South Korea's Ban has said he hopes to meet the North's Paek 
on the sidelines, but would take part in five-party talks if he does not show. 
Foreign minister since January 2004, the 62-year old has tried to keep ties 
with the North stable. But their latest talks collapsed this month, after 
Pyongyang accused its neighbour of parroting the U.S. position. 

* Alexander Downer: The 54-year-old Downer has suggested ASEAN prove itself 
more than a talking shop over North Korea since 2003. Australia's longest 
serving foreign minister, (appointed 1996,) he is unlikely to soften his stance 
now. In July, Downer supported U.S. moves to refer the missile tests to the UN 
Security Council, and reiterated China had the most sway over North Korea. 

* Sergey Lavrov: Russia's 56-year-old foreign minister stole the show at last 
year's summit when he dressed up as a Jedi knight for an after-dinner skit. 
This year Lavrov comes to ARF after an accidentally broadcast spat with Rice 
over Iraq revealed tensions between the two last month. With China, Russia 
crafted an alternative resolution to U.N. sanctions on North Korea. But it was 
criticised for offering to sell Pyongyang technology to store and transport 
nuclear materials days before its missile tests. 

* Anand Sharma: India's junior foreign minister will keep counter-terrorism 
high on the agenda, as the hunt for those responsible for July's Mumbai 
bombings continues. Rice recently said the India-U.S. civil nuclear deal agreed by 
the countries prime ministers should go ahead by August, but this will probably 
remain low-profile amid the agenda's more urgent issues. -- Sources: Reuters, 
BBC 
     
------------------------------------

The Jakarta Post
Wednesday, July 26, 2006

ASEAN inks visa-free treaty 

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Kuala Lumpur

It's a dream come true for Indonesian travelers intent on exploring the 
attractions of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and even isolated Myanmar, but who have been 
loath to deal with visa hassles. 

Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 
signed Tuesday a visa exemption treaty which, if ratified by all the countries, 
would allow citizens to enter and stay in territories of the 10-member grouping 
for a maximum 14 days. 

Six members -- Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines and 
Brunei -- already have similar bilateral agreements in place. 

But only Thailand and the Philippines have entered into bilateral visa 
arrangements regarding regular passports with Myanmar. Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam 
have bilateral agreements on visa exemptions with one or two ASEAN countries, 
but not with Indonesia. 

The Indonesian Foreign Ministry's director general for ASEAN affairs, Dian 
Triansyah Djani, said the signing was a first step toward ensuring a more 
integrated ASEAN community. 

"In order to be applied in all ASEAN countries, the treaty must be ratified 
by each member as it is signed by all members. We hope that all members can 
immediately sign the treaty so that ASEAN citizens can move freely in the 
region." 

The treaty signing is hoped to boost economic, social and culture cooperation 
among members. 

An official source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that after 
governments of Southeast Asia failed to force Myanmar to expedite democratic 
reform, the visa exemption treaty was expected to encourage people to travel to 
Myanmar, and in turn, to make the country more open and transparent. 

"We hope that more people will come to Myanmar so that people-to-people 
interaction will increase. We believe that once a country opens up to the 
international community, faster democratization will take place," the source said. 

Movement of people and intra-trade within the 500-million population ASEAN 
grouping is still low, compared to people flow from and to the region and trade 
with countries outside the region, notably China and Japan. 

ASEAN's total exports and imports were US$519.21 billion and US$492.20 
billion respectively in 2004. Of total exports, only 22.6 percent were conducted 
within ASEAN. Of the total imports, 22.2 percent came from ASEAN countries. 

Indonesia, for instance, has little economic, cultural and economic relations 
with Laos or Myanmar. 

The grouping is seen to have huge potential economic power, with a combined 
gross domestic product of $737 billion. 

-------------------------------------

The Jakarta Post
Wednesday, July 26, 2006

ASEAN urges resumption of Korea talks 

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Kuala Lumpur

ASEAN foreign ministers issued separate statements Tuesday that called for 
the resumption of six-party talks to end the Korean Peninsula dispute, and an 
Indonesian-proposed sharply worded condemnation of Israel's attacks on Lebanon. 

"We call upon all parties concerned to resume the six-party talks and take a
dvantage of their presence at the ARF to fully utilize this opportunity for 
dialog as a means to move forward in achieving a peaceful resolution of the 
issue," one statement said. 

Countries participating in the talks, designed to seek a peaceful solution to 
the North Korea missile row, are the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan and 
Russia. 

Representatives of the countries are confirmed to attend the ASEAN Regional 
Forum (ARF) on July 28 in Kuala Lumpur. 

Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said the statement was issued to 
stress the importance of the resumption of talks, and because of the rare 
opportunity to have all six parties together at a meeting like ARF. 

"Because all the parties will attend ARF, the forum can be used as a place 
for them to meet. We have asked Malaysia as the host to use the opportunity to 
facilitate the talks here." 

Hassan said North Korean Foreign Minister Park Nam-sung would attend and was 
willing to talk with other parties. 

He said that during his bilateral meeting with Park, he would ask him to set 
a time to talk with other delegates from the talks' members. 

"U.S. Secretary of States Condoleezza Rice seem surprised that Park himself 
is willing to attend the forum as he rarely shows up in international forum," 
he said. 

The ASEAN ministers also issued a separate statement condemning Israel that 
was proposed by Indonesia. 

"We are gravely concerned over the deteriorating situation and the escalation 
of violence in the Middle East, particularly the disproportionate, 
indiscriminate and excessive use of force by Israel in the occupied Palestinian 
territory and in Lebanon," the statement said. 

The statement is separate from a more comprehensive joint communiqu‚ which 
will be announced Friday. 

The Indonesian Foreign Ministry's director general for ASEAN affairs, Dian 
Triansyah Djani, said a separate statement on the Middle East was needed to show 
the situation's importance because of the significant civilian toll. 

"We believe that the statement will not be clear if we put it as one of 
paragraph in our joint communiqu‚. By putting in a special statement, we have sent 
a sign to the international community that this is a crucial issue." 

The ministers also urged all parties to exercise utmost restraint to avoid 
additional civilian casualties and to refrain from acts that could further 
exacerbate the situation. 

"We call for an immediate cease-fire and urge the international community and 
the United Nations Security Council to get all parties in the conflicts to 
adhere to the cease-fire under the UN supervision with participation of 
countries that are able to do so, and ultimately to work towards a just, durable and 
comprehensive peace in the region," the ministers said in the statement. 

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said in his opening speech 
that as responsible members of international community, ASEAN countries should 
not appear indifferent to the plight of the Palestinians. He added that the 
latest developments in the Middle East were a grave threat to international peace 
and security. 

On Myanmar, Hassan acknowledged that ASEAN ministers were frustrated about 
the country's slow progress in democratization. 

"We did push them to quicken the process of democratization and release all 
political prisoners, especially Aung San Suu Kyi. Myanmar delegates seem to 
understand but because they have limitations (of authority), they could not do 
much," he said. 

----------------------------------------

ASEAN sends 'strong signal' to Myanmar to speed up reforms 

KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 (AP): Southeast Asian countries have privately sent a 
"very strong message" to Myanmar's military rulers to accept democratic 
reforms, the Malaysian foreign minister said Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told reporters that a statement issued 
Tuesday by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Myanmar may have appeared 
weak because it had to reflect "a compromised position in order to be 
acceptable to all."

But "we have sent a very strong message during our meeting," Syed Hamid said, 
referring to the annual meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers that took place 
Tuesday. Myanmar's Nyan Win also attended.

"Individually when we were having discussions, we sent a very strong signal 
that unless they change, the pressure is going tocontinue and this is not good 
for ASEAN," he said.

Asked if ASEAN has given Myanmar a deadline to restore democracy, Syed Hamid 
said "we want it as soon as possible."

Tuesday's joint statement by ASEAN called on the Myanmar junta to show 
"tangible progress" on democratic reforms, and urged it to free political detainees 
- an apparent reference to Nobellaureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Syed Hamid insisted that the statement was "very strong" even though it may 
not have satisfied critics who want ASEAN to deal more firmly with the junta, 
which claims to be following a road map to democracy that critics have 
dismissed as sham.

"We thought that the statement was very strong. It shows we are not happy 
with the pace of democratization process. We want those under detention to be 
released. We want Myanmar to observethe road map," Syed Hamid said.

The statement fell short of the forceful language used individually by 
heavyweight countries in ASEAN, including Malaysia, who in recent months have made 
clear their frustration with Myanmar's junta.

The current junta came to power in 1988 and called elections in 1990 but 
refused to honor the results that gave Suu Kyi's party a landslide victory. Since 
then Suu Kyi has spent most of her time under house arrest. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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