Asean army chiefs to meet

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Strings attached to UN protection file
Problems can be avoided, says Surin
BANGKOK POST - 29 DECEMBER 99
Bhanravee Tansubhapol
Thailand would subject itself to international obligations if it asked the 
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to release a list of people 
under its protection, Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan said yesterday.
Acknowledging the list of persons of concern to the UN refugee agency would 
amount to de facto accession to the 1951 Convention on Refugees, to which 
Thailand is not party, he said.
The minister made the point after Surapong Jayanama, head of the Foreign 
Ministry's international organisations department, discussed the Sok Yoeun 
case with Janvier de Riedmatten, acting UNHCR representative. Sok Yoeun is 
accused by Phnom Penh of involvement in an alleged assassination attempt on 
Hun Sen, the Cambodian prime minister, near Angkor Wat in September 1989.
The activist of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party has been moved from a safe 
house where he was detained since his arrest last week to the Immigration 
Bureau's detention centre pending trial for illegal entry.
According to Mr Surin, Mr Surapong and Mr de Riedmatten discussed the role 
the two sides should play.
The UN representative expressed readiness to co-operate in finding a 
mechanism to prevent misunderstandings in the future.
Mr Surin said Thailand had to abide by its laws and the UNHCR had an 
international mandate to protect refugees and there was no need for any 
conflict to arise between them.
The UN agency was prepared to submit a list of its persons of concern but 
the problem was whether Thailand was ready to accept the related commitments 
under the 1951 convention.
Before seeking disclosure of the list, Thai agencies needed to discuss the 
matter thoroughly, the minister said.
Sok Yoeun would have to be tried for illegal entry before any other course 
of action could be considered, he said.
The UNHCR said it was making no comment on the meeting at the Foreign 
Ministry yesterday afternoon for the time being.
It also said it did not release for public knowledge figures on individual 
cases of any nationality, but would be prepared to be responsive to a 
government request.


Security beefed up at Bangkok embassies
NATION 29 DECEMBER 99
THAI authorities have been asked to beef up security around some embassies 
in Bangkok due to heightened worries about potential terrorist attacks, 
especially from separatist guerrillas fighting the Sri Lankan government, an 
informed source said yesterday.
The decision was made during the National Security Council meeting on 
Monday, the source said. It followed instructions from the United States 
government to its embassy in Thailand to be on alert for possible terrorist 
attacks by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Thailand will provide additional security to some embassies on top of the 
24-hour security already deployed, the source said.
''To track down a terrorist group is like looking for burglars. We do not 
know when they will strike. We may have some difficulty in co-ordination 
because of the work load and the minimal resources,'' he added.
The LTTE has been leading a decades-long campaign for independence in Sri 
Lanka's northern and eastern regions. More than 55,000 people have been 
killed in the past 27 years.
The rebel group has stepped up its campaign following the December 18 
assassination attempt on President Chandrika Kumaratunga.
Sri Lankan authorities blame the LTTE for the suicide-bomb attack that 
wounded the president.
The Nation

Asean army chiefs to meet
29 December 99
Military chiefs from the ten Asean countries will gather in Thailand next 
May for a meeting aimed at strengthening military ties and promoting defence 
cooperation, says Gen Surayudh Chulanont, the Thai Army commander-in-chief.
According to Surayudh, the historic gathering will enhance the regional 
military leaders' confidence in dealing with a number of sensitive issues in 
the region. The meeting will take place at the popular seaside resort town 
of Hua Hin
The generals attending the meeting will also take part in a friendly 
marksmanship competition, said Surayudh who came up with the idea for the 
meeting.
The upcoming gathering of the army top brass is in line with the policy of 
the Asean Regional Forum, a 22-member security grouping ofwhich Asean is the 
pivot
ARF has adopted a three-stage evolution of confidence-building, preventive 
diplomacy and approaches to conflict resolution.
ARF, started in 1994, operates at ministerial level, as well as the 
so-called track two, which involves security academics and defence analysts 
who contribute ideas to enhance regional stability and promote defence 
co-operation.
So far Thailand's and Vietnam's navies have agreed to jointly patrol 
overlapping claims, while territorial disputes with Malaysia have been 
replaced with joint development and exploration for natural resources.
On military transparency, only Thailand and the Philippines have issued 
''defence white papers'', which, to a limited extent, reveal the strength of 
the country's armed forces and defence capabilities.
Other ideas included in the ARF agenda are cooperation in combating natural 
disaster, search-and-rescue operations and exchange of information on 
piracy.
Nevertheless the Asia Pacific region is still afflicted with a number hot 
spots, including the Taiwan Straits, overlapping claims in the South China 
Sea and a number of violent secession movements in the Philippines and 
Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation.
Surayudh said the Foreign Ministry would continue to be the main driving 
force behind ARF but added that the military would be playing a bigger role 
in the security forum.
The Nation
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