Asean changes to begin in Cebu

A draft of the proposed Asean charter that will be presented in Cebu during the 12th Asean Summit will likely contain provisions that will force a drastic departure from the grouping's traditional non-interventionist posture.

This anticipated drastic departure will likely come as a result of growing doubts among some of the group's members in Asean's continued relevance.

The deputy prime minister of Singapore was quoted on Saturday as saying that the Asean must change or become irrelevant.

S. Jayakumar was representing the city-state in an "eminent persons group " panel tasked with drawing up a proposed, legally binding charter for the 10-member bloc when he issued the statement.

Critics have accused the disparate group - whose members range from wealthy Singapore to the impoverished communist nation of Laos - of being nothing more than a " talking shop " that accomplishes little.

The 40-year-old association has been strongly criticized for its failure to act against abuses, especially those involving military-ruled member Myanmar.

" If it just continues to do more of the same, I think over a period of time, ASEAN will just become one of those organizations which will slowly fade into the sunset, " The Straits Times quoted Jayakumar as saying.

" Asean as an organisation will atrophy and become marginalized " unless it reinvents itself, the Today daily also quoted him as saying

The Singaporean official was speaking ahead of the 12th Asean Summit and meeting with its East Asian dialogue partners in the central Philippine island of Cebu from January 10 to 15.

The gathering was originally set for December but was postponed after Philippine President Gloria Arroyo cited worries over an approaching typhoon. The postponement also came after several countries like the United States, Britain and Australia issued warnings of a terrorist threat surrounding the summit.

A draft of the charter prepared by the eminent persons group is to be presented in the Cebu summit.

Former Philippine president Fidel Ramos, that country's representative on the high-level panel, last month outlined details of the draft, which would be a radical departure from Asean members' traditional non-intervention in each other's affairs.

Ramos said decision-making by consultation and consensus should be retained for sensitive and important issues. " But if consensus cannot be achieved, decisions may be taken through voting among members, " he said.

" In exceptional circumstances the traditional policy of non-intervention may be adjusted and sanctions imposed for non-compliance. And yes, that may include suspension of a member state but not expulsion, " Ramos said.

Jayakumar was quoted Saturday as saying Asean must push ahead with the " hard-nosed decisions " to make itself more effective. " I think there's no choice, " he said.

A final draft of the charter is expected to be presented to the Asean Summit in Singapore next December.

In Kuala Lumpur, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Malaysia has assessed the situation for the upcoming Cebu summit and was confident the Philippines would be free of terrorist attacks despite warnings from Australia, Britain, Canada and the US, state media said.

After Malaysia " had done its evaluation, we believe the Philippine government has taken the appropriate measures to ensure the security of the leaders from Asean during the summit, " he was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency.

Embassies for Canada, Britain and Australia in the Philippines were Friday still warning of a possible terrorist threat days before Asean leaders were due to arrive in Cebu.

Syed Hamid said he was hopeful the summit would proceed smoothly despite the warnings, Bernama reported.

The Philippines has confirmed attendance by all 16 heads of state of Asean member countries and their East Asian dialogue partners. — AFP