Asian Leaders To Focus On Trade,

[nogutsnoapplepie]

VIENTIANE: Sixteen Asia-Pacific leaders converge on reclusive Laos this weekend for a major summit likely to be dominated by mounting concerns over Muslim unrest in Thailand and Myanmar's "road map" to democracy.

Much of the emphasis will be on trade, but the drama is expected in the politics, with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra warning he would walk out if leaders raise the recent deaths of 87 Muslim protesters in Thailand's south.

"If the topic is raised, I will fly back home," Thaksin told reporters in Bangkok ahead of the November 29-30 summit.

The October 25 deaths have inflamed Muslim opinion in Thailand, where a resurgence of violence in the south has left more than 550 people dead this year, and caused concern in neighbouring Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia, fellow ASEAN members.

Thailand is not on the agenda of the summit, with ASEAN adhering to a strict policy of not interfering in the affairs of its members, but analysts said they expected it to feature in behind-the-scenes talks.

Another highlight will be Myanmar's update on developments in the military-ruled country following a leadership shake-up last month that saw prime minister Khin Nyunt put under house arrest and replaced by Lieutenant General Soe Win.

Soe Win, regarded as a military hardliner, is likely to brief his ASEAN counterparts on his country's so-called "roadmap for democracy" and plans, announced Thursday, to release a second batch of prisoners, taking the total releases announced in a week to more than 9,000.

It was not clear if any political prisoners were included in those to be freed, notably opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since May last year.

"This is a potentially positive development," Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said in Vientiane.

"It promotes the atmosphere for dialogue and cooperation but we will only know the full significance of this later," he said.

Terrorism will also be a key talking point in Laos, with ASEAN and Japan expected to adopt a joint declaration for cooperation in counter-terrorism.

A draft of the statement to be issued at the end of a summit involving ASEAN, China, Japan and South Korea said the leaders would also restate "their determination to intensify joint efforts to fighting terrorism in East Asia" as well as support for the global fight against terror.

A record number of statements and agreements are expected to be adopted at the summit, as senior officials started work Thursday on finalising 35 of them.

Among the most significant will be a series of agreements to be signed between ASEAN and China that would take them one step further towards setting up the world's largest free trade area of nearly two billion people by the end of the decade.

Australia has been invited to the summit for the first time and, with Pacific neighbour New Zealand, will launch negotiations with ASEAN to create a free trade bloc whose combined annual gross domestic product would be close to China's 1.4 trillion US dollars.

Free trade talks under way between ASEAN and Japan will also be discussed, and similar talks will be announced with South Korea.

Another key topic for discussion among the leaders will be a push to accelerate a 2020 timetable for ASEAN to establish a European Union-style single market, Southeast Asian government officials told AFP.

To speed up economic integration within ASEAN, the leaders are expected to endorse an agreement reached by their finance ministers in September to remove trade barriers in 11 priority sectors, including air travel, electronics, fisheries and tourism.

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

- AFP

[NedKelly]

I noticed that the ASEAN want Australia to sign some agreement that they will not be the agressor against an Aseannation and or get involved in the internal issues of another member state. So the hands would be tied on subjects such as Myanmar's human rights abuses and suppression of it's people. I dont think the current Aussie government is going to sign anything like this. Certainly hope not anyway.

[tuky]

I hope not too Tiz...sometime milk for your coffee is not worth the hassle...

[Crushdepth]

I dont think the current Aussie government is going to sign anything like this. Certainly hope not anyway.

They aren't - was in the Oz news this morning.

with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra warning he would walk out if leaders raise the recent deaths of 87 Muslim protesters in Thailand's south.

I hate this man and his tin-pot despotism more every day. He doesn't want to be criticised over human rights ? Then how about not abusing them. Sound reasonable ?

[Erwin1011]

with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra warning he would walk out if leaders raise the recent deaths of 87 Muslim protesters in Thailand's south.

I hate this man and his tin-pot despotism more every day. He doesn't want to be criticised over human rights ? Then how about not abusing them. Sound reasonable ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Unofficial reactions from participating countries say that this is NOT helping K. Thoxin in his bid for Asean leadership.

Further, that is not helping Asean to establish itself as a "respectable" group.

I for sure hope that the participants will bring the issue up! And then watch the plane coming in. but i'm not holding my breath.