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Published on November 21, 2007

It was so sad on the auspicious occasion of the signing of the Asean Charter that the Association of South-East Asian Nations, as a group, had to again defend Burma's appalling human rights record. To show Asean leaders were all of one mind, they stood together beside the Asean summit host, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, when he commented on the issue of Burma. Of course, the presence of Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein was not needed because this was a statement from the chair, not from the regional grouping itself.

Lee chose his words carefully when he talked about Burma and what it plans to do. Indeed, when Lee held a press conference right after an informal dinner, he said Burma did not need Asean to help bring about a solution to its political problems because the situation in the country was a domestic affair and the junta was capable of handling the issue itself. His words echoed the long-standing policy among Asean countries of non-interference in the domestic affairs of other member states.

This is the reality Asean faces. Now, even with the Charter, Asean is still hopeless and unable to act against its pariah member.

Nobody can explain why Asean keeps defending the Burmese junta even though the time has come to cut off the cancerous member. Asean is a 10-member family, so the argument goes, and everyone in the family has to take care of everybody else to ensure survival and remain united. But the problem is, Burma does not care about any of this.

Since joining Asean in 1997, Burma has continued to act as if it is a non-member of the group, and indeed it has never really integrated into the group. That helps explain why Rangoon does not feel obliged to do anything as a member of Asean. It does not care if the rest of the family is suffering as a result of its actions. The junta continues to maintain a business-as-usual attitude, as if nothing has happened. But in Singapore, Lee said Asean stood ready to play a role whenever Burma wanted it to do so.

Truth be told, Burma does not need Asean. Burma extracted all it wanted out of Asean two years before it even joined the grouping. At that time, Rangoon needed friends close by in order to counter the growing international pressure against it. It found strong support from then Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and Indonesia's president Suharto, which helped the regime keep its head above water. It was a shrewd move that paid off.

Now Burma knows future games will be played at the United Nations Security Council, with three of the world's major powers on its side - namely China, Russia and India. At the very least, Burma can rely on these so-called friends, which have benefited greatly from the country's huge energy and natural resources. Burma can hide behind China and Russia and ward off the combined leverage of the United States, Britain and France, the three other permanent members of the Council.

The way Burma has decided to accommodate Ibrahim Gambari, the UN special envoy, shows the junta's confidence in handling future Council decisions. After all, there has so far only been a statement on Burma from the Council's president, not from the Council itself.

Burma is learning the rules of high-stakes international politics fast. The junta is certain when the superpowers engage in negotiations that its interests inevitably come first. This allows the generals plenty of room to manoeuvre. In other words, Burma can have even more time to allow its political designs - the referendum for the constitution and planned election - to proceed at a snail's pace. Each Security Council member is bogged down by self-interest - as the case of Iran's nuclear ambition has shown. Whatever action the Council was contemplating in regard to Iran has been proven ineffective.

Like it or not, the Burmese crisis will continue to haunt Asean until positive changes take place. In the next few days, the Thai government will face its own dilemma, as the Burmese prime minister has expressed a wish to visit Bangkok. It would be disastrous if the government decides to welcome him and his entourage.

The Nation