Asean moves closer to integration

Asean moves closer to integration


MANILA


31-Jul-07

SOUTHEAST ASIAN nations moved closer yesterday to approving a historic charter
intended to improve the wealth and safety of a region that accounts for nearly
10 per cent of the world's population.

Faced with the growth of China and India, the spread of militancy and a wish to
reap the benefits of the global economy, the region's 10 countries hammered out
new agreements on the blueprint, which they plan to adopt in November.

The charter will transform the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)
into a European Union-style group with legally binding rules and norms that will
help pave the way for a regional free-trade zone by 2015.

The bloc had been deadlocked over creating a new human rights body after
opposition from Myanmar, but foreign ministers said they had reached a consensus
to create one _ even though the details were left for later.

"This is a historic decision. This is a victory for human rights," said Foreign
Secretary Alberto Romulo of the Philippines, whose nation had been pushing hard
for the creation of a rights organ at the heart of the Asean bloc.

"We believe that there must be a human rights body in the Asean charter," Romulo
said.

But he acknowledged that the leaders of the 10 countries still had to work out
the details and said that they had not signed the final statement of the
ministerial meeting.

The draft of the charter will go to governments in preparation for adoption at
the bloc's next summit in Singapore in November _ not long after Asean's 40th
anniversary.

Founded as a bulwark against communism at the height of the Cold War, the group
now accounts for almost 600 million people including communist Laos and Vietnam.

In her opening address, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo said economic
integration should be the centre of the bloc's efforts to meet the challenges of
the 21st century.

"An Asean community is clearly going to be anchored first and foremost on
economic integration with a focus on social justice and raising the standard of
living of the poor in the region," Arroyo said.

"It is about creating a dynamic force to maximise the benefits of
globalisation."

Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

AFP

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