[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

ASEAN faces prospect of defection f



[NOTE FROM DAVID ARNOTT: PERHAPS IF ASEAN ASKED NICELY,
DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI MIGHT ASK EAST TIMOR TO JOIN] 

ASEAN faces prospect of defection from region's newest state 


AFP, Dili, 20 November 1999   East Timorese leaders, still two or three 
years from full independence, appeared wary of linking their future to
Southeast Asia, long-dominated by their former occupier Indonesia, and to be
eyeing instead
the South Pacific Forum. 

After a succession of new members in the past years that successfully brought
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to the 10 members its
founders had aspired to, the group now may face the first break away. 

East Timor has been part of ASEAN's largest member Indonesia until it reverted
to UN supervision last month following a UN-held ballot for self-determination
there in August. 

The Indonesian parliament last month ratified East Timor's August 30
independence vote, formally surrendering its claim to the former Portuguese
colony which it invaded in 1975 and annexed the following year. 

And the future state of East Timor is likely to spurn the group's offer to
remain within its fold. 

Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, who is due to meet East Timorese
independence leader Xanana Gusmao in Jakarta at the end of the month, has said
he will support East Timor's entry into ASEAN should such a request be made by
its leaders. 

"Indonesia will fully support," any request by the future East Timorese state
to join the regional grouping, Wahid said before he went on a whirlwind trip to
eight ASEAN member states earlier this month. 

During his swing to Indonesia's neighbours, he also won support from Cambodia
to bring East Timor into ASEAN. 

"We have to try our best to bring Timor into ASEAN, so that East Timor does not
become a part of the Pacific and stays in ASEAN. Cambodia supports this
policy," said Indonesian ambassador to Phnom Penh Hamid Alhadad, after the
visit. 

Cambodia is ASEAN's newest member, and its long-awaited admission followed firm
backing from several members, including Indonesia, which is considered among
the more conservative. 

But Gusmao, the man widely expected to become the leader of an independent East
Timor, has indicated he would rather join the South Pacific Forum than ASEAN. 

The territory's chief spokesman, Jose Ramos Horta, has also said East Timor
would resist any attempt by ASEAN states to bring it within their sphere of
influence. 

"We will fight any attempt to have any ASEAN country ... accomplices of
Indonesia, impose themselves on us," Ramos Horta said. 

"We are part of South Pacific nations, we are not part of ASEAN." 

When discussing regional cooperation, East Timor would liaise with South
Pacific nations, he added.  

Singapore Premier Goh Chok Tong has said he considered it natural and sensible
for East Timor to prefer joining a South Pacific grouping instead of ASEAN. 

"They prefer to be identified with the South Pacific countries. I think it's
quite a natural choice for them.

If you look at the geography and ethnic composition of East Timorese, I think
it's quite a sensible choice for them," he explained. 

Goh said he did not think it reflected any erosion of confidence in the ASEAN
grouping. 

He said East Timorese felt that they were not part of ASEAN, "they don't want
to be and that has nothing to do with confidence in ASEAN. 

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. 


Internet ProLink PC User