Us To Sign Asean Non-aggression Pact

[churchill]

PHUKET, Thailand - The United States will sign this week a non-aggression treaty with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a diplomat said.

''This is significant for ASEAN, because it indicates the U.S.' commitment to a deeper level of engagement with ASEAN and to the ideals of the regional bloc,'' the ASEAN diplomat told Kyodo News in an interview last Sunday.

In a recent letter to Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the U.S. accession to

the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) ''will further strengthen our substantive ties.''

Turkey will also likely accede to the treaty later this year.

There is also a need to amend the treaty to allow the European Union (EU) to join, another ASEAN diplomat said.

Flexible moratorium

ASEAN foreign ministers are to adopt new guidelines for accession to the treaty during their meeting in Thailand this week, including a

plan to introduce a ''flexible moratorium'' on partners that wish to join.

The "flexible moratorium" is needed to address ASEAN's fears that letting more countries accede to the treaty might slow down its decision-making process.

''With 15 non-Southeast Asian states already in the TAC, ASEAN's room to maneuver has clearly been severely restricted,'' ASEAN

documents obtained by Kyodo News say.

A case in point is the slow processing of the Third Protocol, proposed by the 10 ''Southeast Asian High Contracting Parties,'' all

member-countries of ASEAN, that would amend the treaty to allow a non-state such as the EU to join. Amending the treaty requires concurrence of all 15 non-Southeast Asian states as well.

The documents say accession of Turkey ''can stimulate other countries to approach the ASEAN foreign ministers for the same

favorable consideration for them to accede to the TAC.''

''(But) if this is the case, ASEAN would be in a serious dilemma: if more are accepted, the ASEAN side will be further

outnumbered by non-Southeast Asian states; if they are turned down, they would be disappointed and unhappy with ASEAN.''

To avoid problems if Turkey joins, the documents say ASEAN foreign ministers can introduce a flexible moratorium wherein

dialogue partners and major powers that have expressed interest in the treaty will be encouraged, but other countries will have to wait

for the time being.

Still, other countries will be assured they can work with ASEAN in many ways, without having to accede to the treaty.

15 nations bound by TAC

The treaty was amended in 1987 to allow non-Southeast Asian states to accede to it.

So far 15 countries have joined -- Papua New Guinea, China, India, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, Russia, Mongolia, New Zealand,

Australia, France, East Timor, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and North Korea.

Concluded by the first six ASEAN member-states at their first summit in Bali in 1976, the non-aggression treaty is considered one of the association's defining documents.

It has two main parts. The first commits its adherents to certain principles of inter-state behavior, including respect for the

independence, sovereignty and noninterference in internal affairs of one another; the second pertains to the peaceful settlement of

disputes.

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

as of 07/21/2009 9:29 PM

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/features/07/21/...aggression-pact

[Texpat]

Non-aggression ... good. Very well.

Does this mean Indonesia can find and fix the terrorists that bombed Jakarta hotels themselves?

Pakistan used to claim they had it under control, too.

[thaimite]

PHUKET, Thailand - The United States will sign this week a non-aggression treaty with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a diplomat said.

I seem to remember Hitler signed one of those with Russia!!!