EU support for new player on ASEAN stage

Date: 17/09/1998

By Shada Islam

EUROPEAN diplomats are hoping that Thailand's dynamic young Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan can revive the EU's floundering relationship with the Association of South East Asian Nations.

The dapper 48-year-old impressed Union ministers and diplomats at July's ASEAN ministerial meeting in Manila with his calls for a radical transformation to make the group more "action-orientated".

There is also a good chance that his formula for low-key Burmese participation in EU-ASEAN meetings may finally allow senior officials from both sides to meet, possibly in Bangkok at the end of October.

At the meeting in Manila, Surin's call for ASEAN to adopt a policy of "flexible engagement", allowing bloc members to discuss each other's affairs openly if these had an impact beyond each country's borders, was warmly welcomed by the Union.

His proposal created quite a stir within ASEAN, with only the Philippines' Foreign Minister Domingo Siazon giving it any support.

But the EU, which has often voiced scepticism about ASEAN's resolute refusal to intervene in or comment on the internal affairs of other members of the group, praised the move. "There's a new wind blowing in the region," said one official.

Critics say the 'ASEAN way' of handling regional problems has allowed the Burmese military authorities to become even more repressive, has failed to solve last year's 'haze' alert over the region and is making it more difficult for the area to deal with its financial and economic problems.

Forced to tone down his words because of opposition inside ASEAN, Surin has now switched to calls for "enhanced interaction" within the group. But his message remains the same: its policy of non-interference, especially with regard to Burma, has outlived its usefulness.

Ever since the country joined ASEAN in July last year, the Union has become entangled in an unpleasant quarrel with the group over Burmese participation in a meeting of the EU-ASEAN joint cooperation committee.

This panel, set up under the cooperation accord signed by the two sides in 1980, was scheduled to meet in Bangkok late last year. But the EU refused ASEAN demands that Burma be given observer status at the talks and, as a result, the meeting was cancelled.

Now Surin has proposed that, instead of each country flying its national flag, only the EU and ASEAN banners should be allowed in the meeting room.

Countries would have their name plates, but those for Burma and Laos would simply read: "new ASEAN members". Burmese officials would have no right to speak at the meeting. It would be made clear that, given Burma's human rights record, there would be no chance of its joining the EU-ASEAN cooperation treaty or being granted any formal observer status.

ASEAN's new flexible stance is a reflection of the group's own increasing frustration with the hardline policies of the Burmese military junta. At the meeting in Manila, for instance, Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw found no ASEAN defenders when he was subjected to relentless criticism of his government's policy by Australia, New Zealand, the US and the EU. As one ASEAN diplomat put it: "Burma has to face the music on its own. We don't feel we have to answer for it."

There is another reason for the change in the Asian bloc's attitudes. The region's financial crisis has made ASEAN leaders more anxious to forge closer links with Europe, which remains an important market for its goods and a source of investment.

While the process of Asia Europe Meetings (ASEM) is seen as important, most South East Asian diplomats insist it must not be allowed to overshadow the EU-ASEAN relationship.

It remains unclear, however, if ASEAN's new stance will mollify the Europeans. Many EU governments, conscious of earlier Asian criticism of their failure to help the region in its time of need, are anxious to get the EU-ASEAN show back on the road.

But Denmark, which is still enraged by the 1996 death of its honorary counsel James Nichols in a Burmese prison, could still decide to play hardball. Sweden, the UK and the Netherlands will also probably need more convincing.

Many EU diplomats agree, however, that Thailand's new foreign minister needs European support. "It's a question of maintaining Surin's credibility within ASEAN," argues one EU official.

Major feature on new factors in EU-ASEAN relations.