Meeting will be held in Thailand; grouping's Charter comes into force
By
Lynn Lee
The annual meeting should have taken place in Chiang Mai this week, but Thailand, current chair of Asean, postponed it because of its recent political crisis. -- PHOTO: AP
JAKARTA: The business of Asean was put back on track when regional leaders confirmed yesterday that the 14th Summit will be held from Feb 24 to Feb 26 in Thailand.
The annual meeting should have taken place in Chiang Mai this week, but Thailand, current chair of Asean, postponed it because of its recent political crisis.
News of the new date came as foreign ministers, officials from the 10 Asean nations and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono met here to mark the Asean Charter coming into force.
A blueprint of rules for member states to follow, the Charter was agreed upon at last year's summit in Singapore with members given a year to push it through their parliaments.
It is a roadmap for members to promote democracy, protect human rights and generally act in the interests of the region, not just themselves. But it will also allow the region to be more competitive, and negotiate with other trade groupings as a bloc.
Speaking to 300 guests yesterday, President Yudhoyono noted that Asean's efforts for better cooperation were timely as the world was battling scourges like the global economic crisis.
To that end, the Asean states and China, Japan and South Korea may now boost their joint foreign exchange reserve pool to US$120 billion (S$177 billion), up from US$80 billion.
Said Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda: 'There is a signal that Asean + 3 will increase the funds.'
The 13 countries agreed earlier this year to the pool - with the bulk coming from Asean's three partners - so that members could dip into the funds to fight off currency speculators.
A meeting of finance ministers to firm up the matter could take place as early as the end of the month, said Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan.
With the new Charter kicking in, leaders also appointed their permanent representatives to Asean and agreed upon changes to the Secretariat.
A new office looking into economic matters of Asean states would be set up, as would an office on human rights, said Dr Pitsuwan. He noted that the Charter was not a 'perfect document', but a step in the right direction.
Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo also spoke of member states' commitment to the future of Asean.
When deciding the dates for the summit, he said, the 10 Asean leaders had sat down to dinner on Sunday night with their prime ministers' diaries in hand.
'I was very touched by the collective sense of wanting to protect Asean, cherishing it and pushing it forward,' he said.
'It was in that atmosphere that we met and discussed and in the end settled on a window. It wasn't the most convenient window but everyone tried his best to find that common window where all leaders could attend.'
Asean was key to the survival of its member states, in the face of a rising China and India, said Mr Yeo.
'Unless as 10 countries we clump together, our survival chances are much worse off. So, our political will is there to make Asean stronger and more viable.'
