WASHINGTON (AFP) - A senior US senator introduced legislation Tuesday calling for the appointment of an ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to boost ties with the rapidly growing region.
"I believe this initiative will be an important step in advancing an already positive relationship," said Richard Lugar, a Republican senator from Indiana, as he introduced "The US Ambassador for ASEAN Act."
The United States at present has envoys at various levels in each of the 10 ASEAN member states -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
But Lugar said an ambassador to look after the region as a whole would prove crucial as ASEAN developed an integrated free trade area and addressed matters of common concern with the United States -- ranging from environmental and financial challenges to avian influenza and terrorism.
The legislation's co-sponsors include Democratic Senators Joseph Biden, John Kerry and Barack Obama.
It is believed that if the bill is approved by the Senate and, later, by the House of Representatives and signed into law, the ambassador would be a State Department official who is at present supervising affairs of the region from Washington.
ASEAN is the third largest export market for US products, and has received approximately $90 billion in direct American investments. Nearly 40,000 students from Southeast Asia study in the United States.
Lugar said the ASEAN envoy could help facilitate implementation of the so-called ASEAN-US Enhanced Partnership announced last November by ASEAN leaders and President George W. Bush on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Busan, South Korea.
"I believe this initiative will be an important step in advancing an already positive relationship," said Richard Lugar, a Republican senator from Indiana, as he introduced "The US Ambassador for ASEAN Act."
The United States at present has envoys at various levels in each of the 10 ASEAN member states -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
But Lugar said an ambassador to look after the region as a whole would prove crucial as ASEAN developed an integrated free trade area and addressed matters of common concern with the United States -- ranging from environmental and financial challenges to avian influenza and terrorism.
The legislation's co-sponsors include Democratic Senators Joseph Biden, John Kerry and Barack Obama.
It is believed that if the bill is approved by the Senate and, later, by the House of Representatives and signed into law, the ambassador would be a State Department official who is at present supervising affairs of the region from Washington.
ASEAN is the third largest export market for US products, and has received approximately $90 billion in direct American investments. Nearly 40,000 students from Southeast Asia study in the United States.
Lugar said the ASEAN envoy could help facilitate implementation of the so-called ASEAN-US Enhanced Partnership announced last November by ASEAN leaders and President George W. Bush on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Busan, South Korea.
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