Thai-Cambodia conflict may haunt ASEAN meeting

The Jakarta Post, Singapore

For several years, it has been the Myanmar issue that has overshadowed ASEAN meetings, including the leaders' summit here last November. But this time, it will be different.

The Myanmar ruling junta will probably even receive a warmer reception because of its readiness to bow to pressure by ASEAN to open its door to international humanitarian workers to help the victims of Cyclone Nargis.

When the ASEAN foreign ministers started their five-day annual meeting on Sunday evening, the rising tension between Thailand and Cambodia may have distracted the ministers' attention from their main agenda items, such as the process for setting up the ASEAN Human Rights Body and talks with VIP guests, including U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who has skipped the past few annual meetings.

"This issue (the Thai-Cambodia dispute) has been a major attention-grabber over the past two days. The ministers will want an update on what has been going on.

"The indications are that this is an issue they (the two countries) want to solve bilaterally," said the ASEAN meeting spokesman Andrew Tan.

But the ministers of the 10-member regional group are not likely to get a first-hand briefing from the conflicting parties, because Thailand does not currently have a foreign minister and instead sent its deputy prime minister Sahas Bunditkul.

And according to the official schedule as at Sunday evening, Cambodia has no plans to send its foreign minister, Hor Namhong.

The Foreign Ministry's director general for ASEAN affairs, Dian Triansyah Djani, indicated the foreign ministers would discuss the Thai-Cambodia border dispute. But he also pointed out the problem was not likely to affect the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting.

ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan, who is also a former Thai foreign minister, called on both countries to exercise "restraint".

"The ministers may wish to address the issue ... trying to encourage early resolution and maximum restraint in order to avoid any repercussions on the image of the organization," Surin said Saturday.

But the ASEAN foreign ministers will also hear good news that will help to boost its international stature: North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun is scheduled to sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC). Pyongyang will add to the list of signatory countries, which includes China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, Russia, Pakistan and France. It is also expected the Six-Party Talks will take place here.

On Monday, after concluding their annual meeting, the ASEAN chief diplomats will meet with the High Level Legal Expert Group on the ASEAN Charter. The following day, they will receive the foreign ministers of China, South Korea and Japan. Japan's Masahiko Koumura and South Korea's Yu Myung Hwan are also scheduled to hold bilateral talks to discuss their dispute over a group of islets in the Sea of Japan.

On Wednesday, ASEAN will host bilateral meetings with its dialogue partners, including the European Union and Australia. On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be the star of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). Her absence from several meetings has annoyed the group's foreign ministers, but as a consolation, the White House recently appointed Scot Marciel as the U.S. ambassador to ASEAN. --Tony Hotland and Kornelius Purba