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ASEAN ponders critical change



ASEAN ponders critical change 
>From AFP  
22jul98 


MANILA: Thailand and The Philippines came under fire at the start of the
annual meeting of the Association of South-East Asian Nations yesterday
after tabling a proposal to allow members to criticise the domestic policies
of member States. 

"Why should we now invent a new terminology which will give interpretation
to the concept of non-interference?" Indonesian Foreign Ministry official
Nugroho Wisnamurti said shortly before the meeting began. 

Senior officials ? largely deputy foreign ministers and undersecretaries ?
immediately proceeded to a closed-door session. Philippine Foreign
Undersecretary Lauro Baja told a news conference later that the ministers
would make a statement in the communique on the regional economic crisis,
with specific reference to Japan. He would not elaborate. 

The economic crisis has sparked soul-searching among ASEAN members, who now
wonder if the long-standing taboo on criticism of fellow members whose
policies have regional impact is still the right approach amid rapidly
changing conditions. 

Thailand and The Philippines are leading calls for ASEAN to adopt the
policy, which Manila said would bring the nine-member organisation closer to
European Union practices. 

Indonesia, Vietnam, Burma and Malaysia have spoken out against the proposal,
although The Philippines claims it was Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar
Ibrahim who originated the idea. 

Some ASEAN members had hoped that last year's decision to admit Burma to the
grouping would have a moderating effect on the military regime's hardline
policies. 

But the junta has defiantly gone ahead this week and tightened restrictions
on opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, blocking her attempts to leave the
capital Rangoon. 

ASEAN, founded in 1967, also includes Brunei, Laos and Singapore. The senior
officials are meeting to prepare the joint communique of the ASEAN foreign
ministers, who will hold two days of talks in Manila beginning on Friday.
The meetings will be expanded on Monday to take in Asia's main security
players, including the US, China and Russia, followed by two days of talks
between ASEAN States and trading partners, including the US, Canada,
Australia and the EU. 

ASEAN has previously had a strict policy of non-interference in the internal
affairs of members. The "flexible engagement" proposal of Thailand and The
Philippines would weaken this policy. 

Mr Nugroho said ASEAN's amity and co-operation treaty did not stop members
discussing "issues of transitional character". Even the newly established
International Criminal Court respected that concept.