ASEAN foreign ministers convene ahead of regional security forum

By Han Qiao

HANOI, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Foreign ministers from ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) convened in Vietnam capital Hanoi Tuesday ahead of the 17th ASEAN Regional Forum to discuss regional integration and security enhancement.

In response to recent rising tension in the Korean Peninsula following a South Korean warship sinking on March 26 with the loss of 46 sailors, ministers expressed their concern over the situation and called for early resumption of six-party talks on denuclearization, said 43rd ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting spokesman Tran Ngoc An at a news briefing.

ASEAN foreign ministers believed that the six-party talks will be a main platform for long-term peace and stability in Korean Peninsula, said An.

The six-party talks, involving China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan, have been stalled since December 2008. It is aimed at realizing denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and achieving peace and stability in Northeast Asia.

ASEAN foreign ministers also expressed support for the presidential statement of the United Nations Security Council earlier this month which condemned the attack on Cheonan warship without assigning blame, said An.

ASEAN foreign ministers extended condolences to the people and government of the Republic of Korea for their loss.

An said ASEAN foreign ministers also discussed the amendment to Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) at the meeting.

TAC is a regional security pact adopted by ASEAN in 1976. It is aimed at promoting peace, security and stability in the region.

With the rising importance of ASEAN, TAC has seen wider engagement from countries outside ASEAN in recent years. China joined TAC in 2003, being the first country outside the region to accede to TAC.

A number of countries have also taken part in TAC including India, Japan, Pakistan among others. The United States joined TAC last year. The European Union is in the process of joining TAC.

An said the third amendment to TAC will be signed on Friday at the 17th ASEAN Regional Forum to allow international organizations to join it, and thus facilitate the accession of the European Union.

An said Canada and Turkey will sign the instrument to join TAC later this week. The moves send strong signal of their commitment to strengthening cooperation with ASEAN and to peace and security in the region, he said.

An said ministers vowed to give full play of the established mechanism in the region like TAC to enhance regional security.

The annual ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting is to formulate the basic policies of the institution of ASEAN.

The Joint Communique adopted at the 43rd Foreign Ministers' Meeting focused on action and measures to further accelerate ASEAN Community building process, broaden ASEAN external relations, and other regional and international issues.

Nguyen Tan Dung, Vietnamese prime minister and chairman of ASEAN summits this year, addressed the opening ceremony on Tuesday that establishing the ASEAN Community by 2015 is the top priority for ASEAN, and much needed to be done to realize the goal.

Dung also expressed growing confidence of ASEAN in participating in regional and international affairs. "ASEAN should present itself as a responsible member of the international community in responding to global challenges, especially economic crisis, climate change and pandemics," he said.

"ASEAN should be more proactive in recommending and undertaking measures to enhance the operational efficiency of ASEAN-led wider regional cooperation frameworks such as ASEAN plus three, East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum," said Dung.

ASEAN was founded in 1967 and currently comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The 17th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) will be held on Friday, drawing foreign ministers and foreign policy chief from its 27 members. ARF is the principal channel for multilateral security dialogue and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

NKorea, Thai-Cambodia flare-up dominate Asian security talks

By Jason Gutierrez

SINGAPORE (AFP) - Foreign ministers from Asia and key world powers opened security talks here Thursday amid a simmering border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia and progress on North Korean denuclearisation.

The meeting of the 27-nation ASEAN Security Forum -- featuring Southeast Asian countries as well as the United States, Russia and the European Union -- came after an unprecedented meeting here Wednesday between US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her North Korean counterpart.

Asia's top security forum was held against the backdrop of the devastating Myanmar cyclone and Chinese earthquake in May, as well as a bitter territorial dispute between Thailand and Cambodia.

At a meeting here Wednesday of top diplomats trying to disarm North Korea, Rice pressed North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-Chun to take new steps on denuclearisation but hailed the "good spirit" at the six-nation talks.

Rice shook hands twice with her "axis of evil" counterpart Pak at their first meeting, saying the negotiating partners "believe we've made progress" but urging Pyongyang to agree to a verification protocol on disarmament.

Foreign ministers from their six-party counterparts China, South Korea, Russia and Japan were also present at the informal meeting, the highest-level gathering of the group since the nuclear dialogue began in 2003.

"I don't think the North Koreans left with any illusions about the fact that the ball is in their court, and that everybody believes that they have got to respond and respond positively on verification," Rice said Thursday.

North Korea staged its first nuclear test in 2006 but in February the following year the hermit state agreed to drop its weapons programme in exchange for massive energy aid.

Pyongyang is expected to sign a non-aggression treaty with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) here later Thursday.

On the Thai-Cambodia border, hundreds of troops are facing off over a small patch of land near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, in one of the most dangerous flare-ups of regional tensions in decades.

More than 500 Thai troops and at least 1,000 Cambodian soldiers have been deployed near Preah Vihear but Cambodian officials said Wednesday that thousands more Thais were taking up positions at other spots along the border.

Phnom Penh has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to prevent armed conflict after an ASEAN ministerial meeting failed to broker a deal here earlier this week.

France's UN Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said council members held a preliminary discussion late Wednesday but that the issue would be revisited Thursday as some delegations had no instructions on how to proceed.

"We are worried about the situation," he told reporters. "We think the council should meet as fast as possible."

Thailand insists the two sides should settle the matter without an outside mediator.

Disaster response was another major focus of the meeting in the wake of Cyclone Nargis which struck military-ruled Myanmar and the earthquake in southwest China in May, leaving a total of more than 200,000 people dead or missing.

ASEAN was criticised for failing to pressure member state Myanmar to open its borders to foreign relief workers in the immediate aftermath of the storm, but won over many of its critics by eventually leading a joint international aid effort.