ASEAN nears perfect score

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		ASEAN nears perfect score
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	ASEAN scores itself a nine out of 10 today when it admits Burma 
and Loas at a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur.

But there were many from within and without hoping for an eight out of 10 
scorecard.

The "perfect 10" would include every south-east Asian nation in the 
30-year0old Association of South East Asian Nations.

But a hitch in the plan came on July 6 when Cambodia's Second Prime 
Minister Hun Sen led the coup that ousted coalition partner, Prince 
Norodom Ranariddh.

Mr Hun Sen went so far as to reject an approach by ASEAN to mediate and 
assist in the return to stable government, a snub to the very body he 
hopeed to join and that has until now made its name on a policy of 
non-interference in the domestic issues confronting neighbouring countries.

Burma and Loas will join Malaysia, Indonesia, the Phillippines, Brunei, 
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

For ASEAN, the break with tradition to push Cambodia publicly was a 
significiant one. It was an overt sign that it could and would interfere 
in the affairs of others.

Yet, Burma appears to remain off limits and off the radar screen of ASEAN.

It will be admitted today despite a refusal by the ruling military junta 
to acknowledge the 1990 electoral win of the National League for 
Democracy led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The admission comes in the face of tough criticism by the US, the 
European Union and human rights groups.

Officials in Canberra say the move by ASEAN to reject Cambodia but admit 
Burma should be viewed as an evolutionary development.

Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer will attend Sunday's ASEAN 
regional forum hoping to discuss problems in Burma and Cambodia.

Issues like the Cambodian conflict and territorial disputes in the South 
China Sea will be high on the agenda.

By SCOTTMcKENZIE, foreign affairs reporter.

(Herald Sun, 23 July 1997)

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