ASEAN summit security under threat of bombs

Manila, Jan 7: Leaders of 16 Asian nations aim to sealagreements on counter-terrorism, energy and trade next week at a summitin the central Philippines clouded by bomb threats and regionalinsecurity.

The British, Canadian and Australian governments continue to warnof possible militant strikes against the Association of Southeast AsianNations' (ASEAN) meeting and East Asia summit, postponed last monthostensibly due to a typhoon.

Manila has said leaders face no terror threat in the central cityof Cebu and insists that its surprise decision to postpone the originalsummit, despite advice to proceed from the national weather bureau, hadnothing to do with security risks.

Counter-terrorism will, nonetheless, take centre stage during theASEAN summit on January 13, when leaders are to sign a conventionclamping down on the unregulated movement of arms and Muslim militantsamong the region's remote isles and coves.

National security agencies would have to coordinate efforts totrack, arrest, detain and rehabilitate suspected militants as well asbeef up border controls and suppress terrorist financing, according toa draft document seen by Reuters.

Regional security concerns are also likely to dominate meetings onJanuary 14-15 between ASEAN and leaders of China, Japan, South Korea,India, New Zealand and Australia amid post-coup jitters in Thailand andnuclear tensions on the Korean peninsula.

The East Asia summit will also sign a declaration on energysecurity calling for reduced costs for renewable energy, standards forbiofuels and investment in regional energy infrastructure to reduce theregion's reliance on oil imports.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, thePhilippines, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- countries withwide variations in politics and development.

Internal Ructions

Post-coup bombings in Thailand, frequent talk ofunrest in the Philippines and Myanmar's continuing refusal to heedcalls for democracy underline the region's instability and jar with thesummit's theme of ''One Caring and Sharing Community''.

Against this backdrop, Southeast Asian chiefs will scrutiniseproposals for an ASEAN charter that would turn a group whose hallmarkhas been informal consensus into a rules-based organisation more akinto the European Union.

Under proposals drafted by an ''Eminent Persons Group'', ASEANwould be capable of issuing binding decisions in disputes and metingout penalties for serious breaches of commitments -- Myanmar's''roadmap'' to democracy, for example.

But leaders were unlikely to do away entirely with the group'slong-standing principle of non-interference in each other's domesticaffairs.

''I would be surprised if they did (accept the proposal ofsanctions) particularly if you look at Thailand, which has just had acoup,'' said Malcolm Cook, programme director for Asia and the Pacificat the Lowy Institute in Australia.

''Even if they did, I would be surprised if ASEAN as a group everimposed them.'' ASEAN members are, however, likely to agree toproposals calling for majority-voting in non-controversial areas suchas economic cooperation to enable them to better tackle China andIndia's growing financial might.

The larger East Asia grouping, which represents roughly half theworld's population, will discuss cutting trade tariffs and improvingcooperation to prevent and contain natural disasters.

So far, weak governments and continuing distrust between China andJapan have stymied attempts to create an East Asian community andprevented effective handling of the typhoons, earthquakes and transportdisasters that hit the region annually.

''Regional cooperation among weak bodies is not going to be very useful,'' said Cook.

Reuters>