U.N. to Discuss East Asian Issues

[ausgeo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

U.N. to Discuss East Asian Issues 
By Robert H. Reid 
Associated Press Writer 
Monday, September 29, 1997; 3:21 a.m. EDT 
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The divided Korean peninsula, economic globalization 
and human rights in Cambodia, East Timor and Burma figure in the U.N. agenda 
this week when East Asians address the General Assembly. 
Perspective on those issues sometimes divides the United States and Europe 
from the emerging economic powerhouses of East Asia. 
Foreign ministers of South Korea, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand are 
among those scheduled to address the General Assembly today as its annual 
debate enters a second week. 
They will be followed later in the week by senior diplomats from Brunei, 
Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, North Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Foreign 
ministers of Japan, China, Burma and Malaysia spoke last week. 
But speakers during the opening week were mostly from Western developed 
countries, such as President Clinton and the foreign ministers of Russia, 
Germany, Britain, France and Italy. 
With East Asian officials taking the podium, topics are expected to include 
major Asian themes such as the situation in Korea, the recent Cambodia coup, 
Burma's junta and the disputed territory of East Timor. 
The massive haze over Southeast Asia, caused by fires lit to clear land in 
Indonesia, has emphasized the need for international cooperation to protect 
the environment at a time of economic growth. 
The environment is only one of several major interational issues that directly 
affect East Asians. 
U.N. agencies have been working to stave off famine in North Korea. The United 
Nations has urged donor countries, especially Japan and South Korea, to 
increase food aid. 
But diplomatic efforts to reach a long-term settlement of the Korean conflict 
have bogged down. The United States and South Korea have offered North Korea 
four-way peace talks to replace the 1953 armistice with a lasting formula. 
Talks on convening a peace conference failed this month because neither side 
would compromise on the agenda. North Korea insists it include discussing the 
withdrawal of 37,000 U.S. troops from South Korea. 
North Korea also wants a separate treaty with Washington, excluding South 
Korea. Washington and Seoul want North Korea to accept a peace deal before 
discussing the status of U.S. troops. 
In Cambodia, the international community has deferred to the Association of 
Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, in diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis 
after Prime Minister Hun Sen ousted his co-premier, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, 
last July. 
The U.N. Security Council refused to condemn the coup or demand Ranariddh's 
restoration. The General Assembly decided Cambodia's seat would remain vacant 
for the debate. 
In July, ASEAN admitted Burma to the regional trading bloc despite objections 
by the Clinton administration and the European Union. Washington has linked 
trade with respect for human rights in Burma. 
But Southeast Asian nations believe the best way to promote civil liberties in 
Burma is to bring the military regime into the global market. 
Southeast Asians are also uneasy about pressure on Indonesia, the largest 
ASEAN power, to solve the East Timor issue in a way favored by Portugal, 
Western Europe, human rights activists and East Timorese opposition groups. 
U.N.-brokered talks between Portugal and Indonesia have been cordial but have 
made little progress. Portugal, the former colonial power, wants a referendum 
in East Timor to decide the territory's status. 
Jakarta, which sent troops to East Timor after the Portuguese left in 1974, 
insists the territory is an integral part of Indonesia.