ASEAN SECURITY MEETING: Mighty nations
give ARF a miss

Published on July 28, 2005 - Foreign ministers of four major powers have urgent business elsewhere

Asean yesterday expressed disappointment over the absence of foreign ministers from four powerhouses - the United States, China, Japan and India - in the regional security forum due tomorrow.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing surprisingly cut short his participation in a series of Asean meetings, leaving Vientiane for Burma after a meeting with Asean and colleagues from Japan and South Korea. Chinese ambassador to Laos Liu Yongxing will represent China in the Asean Regional Forum (ARF). Li told reporters before departure that he needed to visit Burma to fulfil diplomatic obligations since he has never visited Rangoon in the capacity of foreign minister.

The minister declined to say why he rushed to visit the country, whose foreign minister Nyan Win is still in Vientiane for the Asean meeting. Indian foreign minister Natwar Singh reportedly might also skip the ARF security forum.

The two ministers joined US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura who left the Asean meeting in Laos this year. Rice said she was busy with the Middle East while Machimura rushed to New York to lobby for Japan’s bid for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council. It’s very rare for all foreign ministers of major powerhouses in the region and in the world to skip the ARF meeting at the same time.

Asean is disappointed by the absence of big names at the talks but understands that they really have other urgent business, said Thai Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon.

“However the absence of the four ministers could not be considered to be a downgrading of the ARF,” he said, and noted that Asean hoped the ministers could personally attend the meeting next year.

The Asean foreign ministers yesterday met with their counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea and agreed to take only India, New Zealand and Australia into its first East Asia Summit in Malaysia in mid December, shutting the door on Russia’s chance of joining the summit. “Asean, as a driving force of the East Asia Summit, has the right to decide the participants at the first summit,” said chairman Somsavat Lengsavad. Russia had earlier written to Somsavat asking to join the first summit of the East Asian countries, together with sixteen other countries, but the Asean ministers need time to consider the request. Asean has set as criteria for new admission that attendees of the East Asia Summit should be parties to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia and be full dialogue partners of the group, as well as having substantial cooperation with Asean. Thai Foreign Minister Kantathi said Asean will continue consultation with Moscow on the issue. The group has neither reservations nor concern over the participation of Russia but needed to consider the possibility of the summit’s enlargement, he said.

Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
Vientiane