ASEAN leaders agree to put teeth into group

CEBU, Philippines, Jan 12 (Reuters) Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations adopted today bold proposals that could turn a group often derided as a talk shop to a rules-based bloc with bite.

The 10 leaders, whose members range from an absolute monarchy and military juntas to parliamentary democracies and one-party communist states, have agreed to start drafting a charter that would give ASEAN a legal basis for the first time since it was founded at the height of the Vietnam war nearly 40 years ago.

At a news conference to announce the decision, an ASEAN ''Eminent Persons Group'' said they studied the European Union as a reference, but that ASEAN would not become another Brussels.

''Since visiting the EU, I've become more conservative with ASEAN, because we learned that the EU is not that good an organisation that can be transferred to ASEAN,'' said former Malaysian deputy premier Musa Hitam.

The group will still take decisions by consensus for sensitive issues, but will conduct voting over non-controversial issues, according to a summary of the proposals.

The most ground-breaking proposal gives ASEAN the power to suspend, or in extreme cases, expel members for serious breaches of the charter.

Panel chairman and former Philippines president Fidel Ramos said an ASEAN charter will allow the group to compete as a bloc in the ''new order'' of the 21st century.

''We must reposition ourselves to be more competitive in a globalised economy and the new order of the 21st century.'' CARING AND SHARING The ASEAN leaders arrived in the central Philippines city of Cebu for a summit -- rescheduled from last month amid typhoon and terrorist warnings -- that aims to create a ''caring and sharing'' community in the region.

Men in traditional island gear stood atop a new convention centre in Cebu blowing conch horns. Women in flowing green gowns danced and twirled red umbrellas on the ground as presidents, prime ministers, a king and former generals pulled up in limousines.

Searchlights raked the night, filled with the sounds of beating drums and shrieking whistles in a cacophonous Filipino welcome.

A sudden downpour did little to dampen spirits for the biggest event in Cebu since Ferdinand Magellan ended his circumnavigation of the globe here in 1521, slain by a chieftain unhappy that his land was being claimed in the name of Spain.

The Philippines was on high alert after three bombings on Wednesday night, hundreds of miles to the south of the venue, killed eight people and wounded dozens.

Officials suspected Islamic militants and said the blasts were designed to embarrass the Philippines ahead of the ASEAN meetings and a broader East Asia summit next week. More than 13,000 police and troops have been deployed in and around Cebu.

The series of ASEAN meetings began with foreign ministers rebuking Myanmar yesterday for dragging its feet on democratic reforms it has promised ASEAN it would take.

The new charter proposals could theoretically put Myanmar's membership in jeopardy if the junta continued to be recalcitrant.

The grouping, with a population the size of Europe's, plans to bring forward the establishment of an economic community from 2020 to 2015, according to a draft declaration.

ASEAN leaders will also discuss poverty alleviation in countries that have some of the globe's smallest per capita incomes, and disaster prevention in a region that has seen a devastating tsunami, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, forest fires and pandemics over the last couple of years.

Southeast Asian leaders will also sign a counter-terrorism agreement that will clamp down on the movement of arms and fighters between its remote islands through information exchange, border controls and a crackdown on terrorist financing.

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

REUTERS SP BS1921