HANOI Oct 27 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian leaders meet in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, this week to push ahead an ambitious plan to establish a political and economic community by 2015.
Following are some of the disagreements among members of the Association of South East Asian Nations, which groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
MYANMAR
Myanmar and its shoddy human rights record is ASEAN's biggest diplomatic headache, and it will be in the spotlight in Hanoi because it is scheduled to hold its first national election in 20 years on Nov. 7. Many observers say it will be a sham to ensure the military remains in control but the ASEAN way has been to soft-pedal the issue.
The United States and the European Union have urged ASEAN to use whatever leverage it has to induce the military to free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest along with about 2,200 other political prisoners. But Myanmar spurned an ASEAN appeal two months ago seeking a pardon for Suu Kyi. Some ASEAN members, such as the Philippines, have called for a tougher line on Myanmar. Others, such as Vietnam and Cambodia, reject that.
SOUTH CHINA SEA
The South China Sea contains more than 200 mostly uninhabitable small islands, rocks and reefs. It borders China and Taiwan to the north, Vietnam to the west, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, and Singapore to the south and southwest, and the Philippines to the east.
Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei, along with China and Taiwan, are involved in disputes over the waters, which include the Spratly and Paracel islands.
The South China Sea has some of the world's busiest shipping lanes with more than half the globe's oil tanker traffic. The sea is also believed to hold significant oil and gas fields.
CAMBODIA-THAILAND
Cambodia and Thailand are in a standoff over land surrounding a 900-year-old, cliff-top Hindu temple on their border. Soldiers from both sides have been killed in skirmishes and both have used the issue to stir up nationalism. Thailand has rejected a Cambodian proposal to make the temple a U.N. world heritage site under its jurisdiction and has also rejected Cambodian calls for outside intervention.
There is also concern in Thailand that members of the political opposition, involved in protests and deadly clashes with soldiers this year, are plotting from Cambodia.
MALAYSIA-INDONESIA
Indonesia and Malaysia are embroiled in a dispute over oil-rich waters. The feud has its origins in a 2002 International Court of Justice ruling which affirmed Malaysia's sovereignty over a disputed island but left the delimitation of surrounding waters unresolved.
There are more than 1 million Indonesian workers in Malaysia, and occasional cases of abuse have caused anger in Indonesia. The recent arrest of Indonesian fisheries officials by Malaysia led to demonstrations in Jakarta. Malaysia and Indonesia are also feuding over the rightful claim to the making of batik cloth.
SINGAPORE-MALAYSIA
Malaysia and Singapore are in a row over waters surrounding islets where the Singapore Strait meets the South China Sea, a strategic route through which 80,000 ships pass each year.
The International Court of Justice ruled in 2008 that Singapore owns Pedra Branca islet, known in Malaysia as Pulau Batu Puteh. Malaysia was given the smaller Middle Rocks.
It left the two to decide on South Ledge, and Malaysia, promptly laid claim to the rocks visible only at low tide. The two haggle over issues from water supplies to land reclamation, transport links to airspace, although a recent agreement over the development railway land owned by Malaysia in Singapore, which split from Malaysia more than 40 years ago, marked an improvement in ties.
PHILIPPINES-MALAYSIA
The Philippines claims sovereignty over the oil and gas rich Malaysian state of Sabah, in the north of Borneo Island. The Philippines have for the most part placed the claim over Sabah on the back burner because of its emphasis on fostering closer economic and security ties with Malaysia.
(Reporting by Razak Ahmad, Nopporn Wong-Anon, Martin Petty, Manny Mogato and John Ruwitch; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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