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SE Asia to propose support mechanis



Subject: SE Asia to propose support mechanism [to] Northern partners 

SE Asia to propose support mechanism Northern partners 

Kyodo, Manila, 24 November 1999. Deputy finance ministers of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will propose to their
counterparts from Northeast Asia the establishment of a regional economic
support mechanism where financial resources and expertise are shared to
strengthen the region's financial sector, a senior Philippine official said
late Wednesday. 

Philippine Finance Undersecretary Joel Banares told reporters at the end of
a special meeting of
ASEAN finance deputies that the Philippines proposed setting up of an
economic mechanism and that
the response of the other ASEAN countries 'was very positive.' 

'Of course this is just a starting point. We will have to flesh it out
further and maybe make some
refinements,' Banares said, adding the refinements will depend on the
reaction from Japanese, South
Korean and Chinese deputies when the proposal is brought to a meeting of
East Asian finance and
central bank deputies Thursday. 

The ASEAN finance deputies meeting Wednesday, as well as the East Asian
finance and central bank
deputies meeting Thursday are both in preparation for the ASEAN leaders
summit and the summit of
ASEAN leaders and the leaders of Japan, South Korea and China on the weekend. 

Banares, who chairs both meetings of deputies, explained the
Philippine-proposed regional support
mechanism will make available not only existing financial facilities from
multilateral agencies such as the
World Bank or the International Monetary Fund, but also facilities such as
the Miyazawa Fund from
Japan, which is being used to help ASEAN members recover from the financial
meltdown of July 1997. 

The mechanism will also include training programs for government officials,
even at the highest levels, in
such areas as macroeconomic risk management and financial regulation. 

'What we are trying to put up are not only mechanisms by which we can
'concretize' regional support,
but also the process by which dialogue, consultation, cooperation and
coordination can continue,'
Banares said. 

Aside from the proposed mechanism, the finance deputies also finalized a
draft of the ASEAN
surveillance report prepared by the ASEAN secretariat based in Jakarta, the
draft of an ASEAN
finance ministers statement to be released Thursday, and the finance
ministerial input for a joint statement
on East Asian Cooperation to be issued by the ASEAN and northern Asian
leaders after their summit. 

The surveillance report says the financial situation in the region is
getting better, with risks not as
pronounced as before, Banares said. 

But the report notes that countries in the region are not full;y recovered
and much needs to be done in
the banking system 'in terms of cleaning up the mess, so to speak. But the
work is continuing,' Banares
said. 

The ASEAN finance deputies ministers also reported the results of their
meeting to their ministers, who
met for dinner Wednesday ahead of their meeting Thursday. 

Senior economic officials also met separately Wednesday in preparation for
the summit and for the joint
ASEAN ministerial meeting involving economic, finance and foreign ministers. 

A Thai official said the senior economic officials were still locked in
debate as of late Wednesday over
the issue of liberalizing the automotive and petrochemical industries under
the ASEAN Free Trade Area,
with Malaysia insisting it is not ready to free those sectors from its
high-tariff regime. 

Malaysia has apparently convinced the Philippines to support its position,
while Thailand is urging
everyone to move ahead with liberalization because it could delay ASEAN's
target of starting
liberalization on Jan. 1 next year. 

A separate meeting of senior ASEAN foreign ministry officials also
continued until late Wednesday to
prepare several documents for the summit, including a proposed regional
code of conduct in the South
China Sea that has been tangled in differences over which disputed areas in
the sea will be included
under the code. 

ASEAN groups the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei,
Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos,
Myanmar and Cambodia. 
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