Newspaper section: News
There is more than usual riding on this week's meetings of foreign ministers in Phuket. The focus of everyone at home and many abroad is simply whether the 42nd Asean Ministerial Meeting is held peacefully. The refusal of North Korea to send its foreign minister for the meeting of the Asean Regional Forum is a severe setback to the hopes for regional peace. But the most important issue of all may turn out to be the suicide bombings of the luxury hotels in Jakarta. That sharp reminder of the clear and present danger should bring fresh agreement among all 27 attending nations to fight terrorism.
Phuket is under emergency rule for the meeting. It is probably overkill, but understandable. The stated reason is clear: authorities were hugely embarrassed last April when a relatively small gang of red shirts from the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) broke up the Asean-plus-six summit. Before that, yellow- and red-shirted mobs forced the cancellation of three would-be Asean meetings. Such meetings are important for the country. If protesters cannot make their point peacefully, they simply have to wait to make it at all.
But putting Phuket under rule of the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) took on an even more ominous tone when bombers attacked again in Jakarta on Friday. The murderous suicide bombings of the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels were an instant reminder of the common threat faced by all 27 nations meeting in Phuket. Terrorism is occasionally forgotten but never gone in this region. The Jakarta bombing was a stark reminder that the militant Jemaah Islamiyah group and its al-Qaeda sponsor are reeling, but far from defeated.
The Asean-sponsored conferences have important ramifications for Thailand. The recent political wars have upset normal diplomacy at times. The appearance of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is meant to show that Washington intends to remain deeply committed to the region. The administration of President Barack Obama seems certain to agree to sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, and possibly the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone. That would be a major victory for Asean diplomacy under the Thai presidency, even though Russia still will not sign.
Apart from the continuing terrorist infestation, the chief problems faced by the Ministerial Meeting and Regional Forum are the two rogue governments of East Asia. North Korea and Burma represent the very worst types of government. Ironically, both countries are members of the groups meeting this week, their secretive and un-neighbourly arrogance is the reason the Asean-sponsored conferences were formed.
Openness in trade, information and particularly defence brings international confidence. Almost all nations in our region are open about their planning and budgets, including military spending. In the bad old days, Vietnam secretly invaded Cambodia, and Thailand considered Vietnam a perpetual enemy. Those and other stereotypes and fears have been long put to rest, in most cases.
North Korea and Burma continue to act secretly, alone and together, and their lack of openness has bred distrust. It is now a matter of speculation whether Pyongyang and the Burmese dictators are actually colluding on a major nuclear project. Those governments should and could dispel or confirm such fears, and live up to the agreements they made in joining the Regional Forum. Instead, Burma remains secretive, and North Korea has sent a diplomat instead of the foreign minister to Phuket.
Trust and openness automatically breed peace, as the past 20 years of Asean diplomacy has shown. Burma and North Korea cannot endure forever as members of the Asian community while so openly flaunting their core actions.
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