ASEAN Leaders to Get Tougher on Terror, Open up Economies

by Martin Abbugao =(PICTURE)= ATTENTION - ADDS quotes, details ///

CEBU, Philippines, Jan 13, 2007 (AFP) - Southeast Asian leaders pledged Saturday to get tougher on terrorism, move faster towards a single market and reshape their regional grouping ASEAN to meet the demands of the 21st century. Facing economic pressure from heavyweights China and India, and the twin shadows of terrorism and poverty, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations adopted an ambitious agenda it hopes can transform the region. Following a day of talks at a summit that was postponed last month amid fears of a terror attack, it set a goal of 2015 for a free-trade zone that would cover almost 570 million people, more than the population of Europe. "ASEAN is committed to expanding its trade area to create one of the world's greatest trading blocs," said Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, who hosted the gathering in a five-star seaside resort in Cebu. The leaders also signed their first convention on fighting terrorism, making it easier to track suspects and money across borders, share intelligence information and extradite suspects from one ASEAN country to another. Even though the region has suffered a series of bloody attacks in recent years, leaders also pledged to try to reintegrate convicted terrorists into society -- a sharp departure from usual western approaches. Perhaps the biggest change is a plan to revamp how this disparate group of nations -- run by everything from sultans to old-school communist ideologues -- will handle its internal diplomacy. The group signed a commitment to create ASEAN's first-ever charter, aimed at turning it into a European Union-style entity with binding rules and regulations. "ASEAN has matured into a regional organisation and is expanding its role as an integrated regional economy and a dynamic force in maintaining regional peace and stability," member nations said in their signed accord. "We are committed to establish an ASEAN charter as a crowning achievement of 40 years of ASEAN." The bloc has always acted in the past on informal consensus and refrained from interfering in each other's internal affairs, leaving it open to criticism that it is little more than a "talking shop". The issue has come up most often regarding the ruling generals of Myanmar, who have snubbed regional and international pressure to move to democracy. Myanmar escaped censure at the UN Security Council on Friday when China and Russia used a rare double veto to block a US-backed resolution that would have called on the junta to release all its political prisoners. The ASEAN charter is to be drawn up and is scheduled to be adopted in November by the group, which was founded by five nations as a bulwark against communism at the height of the Vietnam War. Leaders endorsed a charter blueprint that allows for the possible expulsion of members in extreme circumstances. Analysts doubt whether the group will take the hard step that would allow the outright punishment of its members, and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi admitted there had been differences over the charter. But he cautioned: "In order for an organisation to survive, it has to be a rules-based organisation." The group also signed an agreement to safeguard the rights of millions of migrant workers, whose labour is essential to many of the region's economies. China, South Korea, India and Japan will hold summits with the 10 ASEAN leaders on Sunday. They will be joined by Australia and New Zealand Monday for the East Asia summit. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. bur-sm/mc/skj

ASEAN-SUMMIT - 01/13/2007 19:04 - AFP