October 23, 2009Asian summit to tackle economic crisis, discuss ways to deepen ties
AFP/Hua Hin, Thailand
Asian leaders meet in Thailand amid tight security this weekend to discuss ways to deepen economic ties and sustain the region’s rebound from the recent global downturn, officials said.
A long-awaited but controversial rights body is also set for its official launch, while leaders are expected to grapple with climate change and how to improve the way they deal with natural disasters.
Officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit and key regional partners began to gather yesterday at the elite beach resort of Hua Hin, with the leaders due to arrive on Friday.
Dozens of armoured vehicles were stationed at key points in the town yesterday, backing up around 18,000 security personnel deployed under harsh laws invoked by the government.
The meeting was originally due to be held in Pattaya in April but was called off after anti-government protesters stormed the venue and forced foreign leaders to flee.
This weekend’s summit involving Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam will be followed by talks with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
Asia’s quick rebound from the global recession compared with the US and other Western economies is expected to set the mood for talks on further freeing up the flow of trade, investment and people across the region.
“Asia is poised to take on a bigger role on the global stage after the dust from the economic crisis has settled,” a senior Southeast Asian trade official said.
The official said that integration was the “key to unlocking Asia’s full potential”.
Central to the integration efforts is Asean’s goal to establish an EU-style community by 2015 and expand trade and economic links to include regional giants such as China and India.
A draft of a statement to be signed by leaders this weekend reaffirms their “commitment to support the establishment of an Asean community comprising three pillars, namely political and security co-operation, economic co-operation and socio-cultural co-operation.”
The grouping’s Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said that in the past decade, the bloc’s combined export value jumped three-fold to $1.7tn from 576bn.
Separately, the bloc will today officially launch a long-awaited human rights body, which is designed to answer criticisms that the region is soft on member countries such as military-ruled Myanmar.
The UN yesterday urged leaders to make the new Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights “credible”.
The body has been criticised for focusing on the promotion of rights rather than protection and for having no power to punish member nations.
A draft declaration to be released at the launch of the commission said that the body was a “historic milestone” and a “vehicle for progressive social development and justice”.
Myanmar’s continued detention of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is likely to come under the spotlight, as the US embarks on a major policy shift to re-engage the junta.
The environment will also be a major topic at the summit, with Asean leaders expected to issue a statement in support of global talks in Copenhagen in December aimed at hammering out a new climate change treaty, other diplomats said.
Asean and its partner nations are also expected to issue statements on food security co-operation and disaster management.
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