Friday, March 02, 2007

ASEAN ministers to meet in Phnom Penh

02/03/2007
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

ASEAN foreign ministers are preparing to meet in Phnom Penh.

They will discuss details for the 40-year-old group's first-ever charter, which officials hope to put in place later this year.

The charter is one of the cornerstones of an ambitious plan to turn the 10 ASEAN nations into a rules-based bloc along the lines of the European Union, in what would mark a radical change in regional affairs.

Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations traditionally operate by consensus and keep out of each other's affairs, but a charter could pave the way for sanctions against countries that violate its provisions. in November.

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