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The Nation: REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE/Bu



Editorial & Opinion 

      REGIONAL
      PERSPECTIVE/Burma
      remains a thorn in
      Asean-US Dialogue

      Once gain, Asean's relations with the US
      are under stress as their bilateral forum, the
      Asean-US Dialogue, has been delayed.
      The US has been reluctant to host the
      two-year event due to the admission of
      Burma as a member of Asean last year. 

      The dialogue forum, which was initiated in
      1977, provides a venue for both sides to
      discuss the whole gamut of issues related
      to Asean-US ties. The 12 previous
      meetings, which were hosted alternatively
      between by the US and Asean countries,
      were convened during a time of few
      problems. 

      However, Burma's membership in Asean
      last July changed all that. 

      Following the postponement of the
      Asean-European Union joint committee
      meeting last November over a similar
      dispute concerning Burma's status,
      Washington said in private that it would like
      to host the dialogue outside the US. 

      Washington has informed Malaysia, the
      Asean coordinator of the dialogue, that
      because of the current visa ban imposed
      on Burmese officials representing the the
      State Peace and Development Council, as
      the Rangoon government is known, the
      meeting could not proceed as planned. 

      The move has left Asean at a loss over
      what to do as the member countries do not
      know the details or scope of the US visa
      ban. At an informal meeting among Asean
      senior officials in New Delhi recently,
      Burmese officials pointed out that the US
      visa restrictions apply only to a select group
      of officials above the senior official level
      and military personnel above the level of
      brigidier general. 

      That would mean that Washington could go
      ahead with the meeting with senior officials
      from Burma attending the forum. 

      Howerver, Malaysia has sought further
      clarification from Washington on this point
      before Asean decides if the Asean-US
      Dialogue is to be held outside the US or in
      Washington, where it was scheduled to be
      held. 

      Asean is working on three options. 

      The first is to stick to the original location,
      the US, with the participation of Burmese
      officials from its mission in Washington.
      This way, it will save Washington from the
      further embrassment of issuing new visas. 

      Two other options would require
      cooperation from the Philippines. Manila
      would host the forum either with the
      attendance of Burmese diplomats
      stationed in Manila or with officials directly
      flying in from Rangoon. The first approach
      ensures that the US officials will participate
      in the dialogue while the second approach
      is to make sure that the Burmese
      representation from Rangoon will be
      present at the meeting. 

      Of late, the Philippines has promoted its
      ties with Burma, whose leaders, including
      Chairman of State Peace and
      Development Council Than Shwe, are
      currently visiting the Philippines. 

      Although it is Washington's desire to have
      the meeting hosted in the Philippinese,
      right after the senior officials meeting of the
      Asean Regional Forum (ARF) due in Cebu
      in May, Asean is not happy with the
      compromise. 

      For one thing, Asean is worried it could
      serve as a precedent for other dialogue
      partners. ''What would we do, if other
      dialogue partners follow suit,'' complained
      an Asean official. Apart from the post
      ministerial meeting, Asean holds a
      separate bilateral meeting with its dialogue
      partners comprising Australia, Canada,
      New Zealand, EU, Japan, South Korea,
      China, Russia and India. 

      Asean also feels that if the meeting is held
      inside the US, Washington will pay more
      attention and its senior officials will make
      every effort to take part in the meeting. In
      the past, whenever the meeting was held
      outside Washington, the US has often been
      represented by lower level delegates. 

      There are also grumblings in the Asean
      capitals that the US should not be so fussy
      about Burma's participation in the
      Asean-US Dialogue. Afterall, US State
      Secretary Madeleine Albright has already
      sat in the same room with the Burmese
      representatives at the ARF in Kuala
      Lumpur. 

      Without a quick resolution to the Asean-US
      Dialogue problem, the pending Asean-EU
      joint committee meeting due to be held in
      several months could be jeopardised. Both
      Asean and EU would like to resume
      high-level contacts as soon as possible, but
      there has not been any progress on the
      Burma sticking point. 

      Asean has been urging the EU to convene
      meetings at the working group and
      technical group levels to break the
      impasse, otherwise the overall Asean-EU
      relationshiop will not be able to move
      forward. Since the postponement, the two
      sides have been searching for a way out of
      their predicament. 

      Both sides has said they would like to see
      the meeting being held before the second
      Asia-Europe Meeting on April 2-4 in
      London, which looks increasingly
      impossible. 

      Strange as it may seem, though, Asean-US
      relations are not as important as they
      should be. In fact, Asean's bilateral ties with
      other dialogue partners, such as Australia,
      are more significant. 

      At the moment, there is only one
      cooperation programme under the
      Asean-US Dialogue, called the
      Environment Initiative, which was put in
      place in 1992 and will end in June.
      Washington has yet come up with a new
      idea to rejuvenate this bilateral procedure. 

      In light of what has occurred in the financial
      world of Asean in the past months, Asean
      is hoping to raise this issue and discuss it
      at length in the dialogue forum. Asean
      would like the US to spell out its
      cooperative efforts. 

      In the past, the two sides have discussed
      the situation in Burma and Cambodia
      including narcotic suppression cooperation.

      BY KAVI CHONGKITTAVORN 

      The Nation