"...Washington should continue to seek support from Burma?s neighbours against Slorc even if it can?t count o?n them to "urge Slorc to enter into a productive dialogue with democratic forces in Burma," as Deputy State Department spokesman John Dinger asked o?n June 2. The democracy rationale was never the most useful with Asean. After all, the majority of Asean?s members are authoritarian states, unlikely to pressure Slorc decisively o?n issues of democracy and human rights. In fact, it is in the interests of most if not all Asean countries to have a member with an abysmal human rights record about which they can say, "Hey, we?re not that bad." However, individual Asean members like Indonesia and Malaysia have o?n occasion played constructive roles in discrete areas, like supporting a UN presence in Burma to protect Muslims in the western state of Arakan. Thailand and the Philippines, who resisted the decision to admit Burma, should be enlisted to continue similar efforts and advance democratic principles within Asean..."