IAN TIMBERLAKE
AFP
Southeast Asian leaders open talks on Thursday with their vision of building a regional "community" of nations overshadowed by major unrest in Thailand and Burma's widely criticised election plans.
On the eve of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in the Vietnam capital, Thailand's premier declared a state of emergency as protesters stormed parliament in a dramatic escalation of an anti-government campaign.
Thailand's long-running political drama is among the domestic issues within the 10-member ASEAN bloc which are distracting it from moving forward collectively, observers say.
Focused on economic issues for most of its existence, ASEAN in 2008 adopted a charter committing it to tighter links. The group aims to form by 2015 a free market entity of 600 million people, committed to democratic ideals.
"The building of the economic community will be one of the focal points during the summit," said Vietnam's assistant foreign minister Pham Quang Vinh.
Although the two-day meeting's slogan is "from vision to action", analysts say ASEAN is weighed down by wide development gaps within the region, entrenched domestic interests and the perennial distraction of Burma's failure to embrace democracy.
"I don't see any potential for their vision of an ASEAN community coming through by 2015," said Christopher Roberts, from the University of Canberra.
ASEAN's diverse membership ranges from Laos, one of Asia's poorest nations, to the Westernised city-state of Singapore, the absolute monarchy of Brunei and the vibrant democracy of Indonesia.
Other members are Cambodia, the Philippines and Malaysia.
But it is military-ruled Burma, accused of widespread rights abuses and preparing to hold its first elections in two decades later this year, which has been the bloc's most troublesome issue.
ASEAN members are divided on how to respond to Burma - which is under European Union and United States sanctions - but has always escaped formal censure from ASEAN, which adheres to a principle of non-interference in internal affairs of its members.
Analysts expect this time to be no different, despite a call by 105 Southeast Asian lawmakers to impose sanctions on Burma and consider its expulsion over its election laws, which effectively barred opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from participating.
Global rights watchdog Amnesty International said Burma is in "serious breach" of its rights obligations under the ASEAN charter and called on the bloc to act urgently.
Despite such issues within its membership, ASEAN must remain focused on establishing greater unity, said Simon Tay, chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.
"The group as a whole must deepen cooperation in order to meaningfully engage the regional powers and the USA," he said in a statement.
Ahead of the summit, ASEAN on Wednesday took another step towards addressing long-neglected human rights concerns with the inauguration of a commission to address the rights of women and children.
But economic issues will remain a focus of the leaders' summit.
In a draft statement seen by AFP, they call on regional governments to prepare to wind down economic stimulus measures brought in during the global financial crisis.
The leaders also say they want vital road, sea and air links completed more quickly to complement efforts to integrate regional economies, according to the draft of the statement, to be issued on Friday.
In a separate draft document, the leaders also call for a legally binding global pact on climate change.
On the eve of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in the Vietnam capital, Thailand's premier declared a state of emergency as protesters stormed parliament in a dramatic escalation of an anti-government campaign.
Thailand's long-running political drama is among the domestic issues within the 10-member ASEAN bloc which are distracting it from moving forward collectively, observers say.
Focused on economic issues for most of its existence, ASEAN in 2008 adopted a charter committing it to tighter links. The group aims to form by 2015 a free market entity of 600 million people, committed to democratic ideals.
"The building of the economic community will be one of the focal points during the summit," said Vietnam's assistant foreign minister Pham Quang Vinh.
Although the two-day meeting's slogan is "from vision to action", analysts say ASEAN is weighed down by wide development gaps within the region, entrenched domestic interests and the perennial distraction of Burma's failure to embrace democracy.
"I don't see any potential for their vision of an ASEAN community coming through by 2015," said Christopher Roberts, from the University of Canberra.
ASEAN's diverse membership ranges from Laos, one of Asia's poorest nations, to the Westernised city-state of Singapore, the absolute monarchy of Brunei and the vibrant democracy of Indonesia.
Other members are Cambodia, the Philippines and Malaysia.
But it is military-ruled Burma, accused of widespread rights abuses and preparing to hold its first elections in two decades later this year, which has been the bloc's most troublesome issue.
ASEAN members are divided on how to respond to Burma - which is under European Union and United States sanctions - but has always escaped formal censure from ASEAN, which adheres to a principle of non-interference in internal affairs of its members.
Analysts expect this time to be no different, despite a call by 105 Southeast Asian lawmakers to impose sanctions on Burma and consider its expulsion over its election laws, which effectively barred opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from participating.
Global rights watchdog Amnesty International said Burma is in "serious breach" of its rights obligations under the ASEAN charter and called on the bloc to act urgently.
Despite such issues within its membership, ASEAN must remain focused on establishing greater unity, said Simon Tay, chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.
"The group as a whole must deepen cooperation in order to meaningfully engage the regional powers and the USA," he said in a statement.
Ahead of the summit, ASEAN on Wednesday took another step towards addressing long-neglected human rights concerns with the inauguration of a commission to address the rights of women and children.
But economic issues will remain a focus of the leaders' summit.
In a draft statement seen by AFP, they call on regional governments to prepare to wind down economic stimulus measures brought in during the global financial crisis.
The leaders also say they want vital road, sea and air links completed more quickly to complement efforts to integrate regional economies, according to the draft of the statement, to be issued on Friday.
In a separate draft document, the leaders also call for a legally binding global pact on climate change.
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To all KI readers, trolls and the likes,
I work for FBI funded Cyber Crime Prevention Office, Ministry of Interior. I am in charge of monitoring all internet traffic and cyber activities here in Cambodia. Every single character typed into this blog is filtered through our hub and IP addresses can be traced accordingly.
I would advise all of you to watch your back when bashing a great leader and thanks in advance for your cooperation.
Enjoy! We have about 2 more years to enjoy our journeys as human beings.
In 2012 a super sun storm will hit our planet. The Solar Flares Could Mean the End of Life as we KNOW it.
One of a great world scientist named Dr. Michio Kaku an astrophysicist reports to us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_TzIUlaQok
We need a spare planet to save our human species, and that spare planet is Mars. Hopefully, but when???
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