( Manila, KL back away from fight o

[suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: ( Manila, KL back away from fight over Anwar)--> 

( Manila, KL back away from fight over Anwar)-->

 MANILA, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The Philippines and Malaysia on Tuesday backed
away from  
a diplomatic squabble over sacked Malaysian cabinet minister Anwar Ibrahim. 

 Hours after Kuala Lumpur said it was ready to restore scrapped defence
talks with  
Manila, President Joseph Estrada said he had said enough in support of
Anwar and would  
now keep his peace. 

 "I have already expressed my feelings and I think that's enough," Estrada
told reporters  
after meeting former president Fidel Ramos who, he said, advised him to
exercise restraint. 

 "I'm through already...I think it will stop there," he said. 

 Estrada sparked a diplomatic row with Kuala Lumpur when he said recently
that Malaysia  
should respect Anwar's rights and give him "due process." 

 He also urged Anwar not to give up the fight and said the Philippines  
and Indonesia planned a joint appeal to Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohamad to move Anwar  
to house arrest. 

 Estrada said Ramos told him to balance his commitment to support Anwar--
whom Estrada  
calls a "personal friend"-- with the interests of about 300,000 Filipinos
living in Malaysia. 

 Earlier, Estrada played down fears the row over Anwar could harm the
status of  
the Filipino workers in Malaysia, saying the two issues were unrelated. 

 Anwar, a former deputy prime minister and finance minister, was arrested
last month and  
is being tried on charges of sodomy and corruption. He denies the charges. 

 Philippine assistant defence secretary for plans Ruben Carranza said the
Malaysian defence attache in  
Manila had said Malaysia was ready to hold defence talks on November 8-10. 

 "The reason given was financial and scheduling problems. Now everything is
ok," Carranza told  
reporters. 

 The talks, held yearly to discuss defence procurement and military
exercises, were originally set  
for October 28-30 but the Philippine Defence Department said on Monday that
Malaysia had decided  
to cancel them without giving any reason. 

 Defence Secretary Orlando Mercado, speaking to reporters before Malaysia
sent word it was ready  
to talk again, dismissed media suggestions that the diplomatic row could
provoke a conflict between  
the two countries. 

 He said one third of the Philippines' armed forces were stationed on
Mindanao island,  
near Malaysia, but added: "We are not in any way girding for an external
conflict  
because Malaysia is a good ally." 

 "The present problems with Malaysia are not going to deteriorate (to a
point) that  
would even require a semblance of military preparedness or action," he said. 

 The spat between the Philippines and Malaysia, which are partners in the
Association of  
South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), has roused the concern of Vietnam,
another ASEAN state. 

 "Our ambassador (in Hanoi)...was told by Vietnam that they value very
highly the policy  
of non-interference in internal affairs, which is an oblique way of saying,
'Hey, stop carping  
about Anwar'," Philippine foreign undersecretary Lauro Baja said. 

 The nine-nation ASEAN-- which also includes Thailand, Singapore,
Indonesia, Brunei, Laos and Myanmar (Burma)  
- has rigidly followed a decades-old tradition of not openly discussing the
political affairs of  
a fellow ASEAN member. 

 The Philippines and Thailand are trying to persuade other members to be
more open  
but have met stiff opposition. 

 "Non-interference has serviced ASEAN well but maybe present realities
dictate a new paradigm," Baja  
said. 

 The group must change its orientation, he said, adding: "Or ASEAN cannot
hope to  
grow as it wishes to grow...or even survive."