Asia's main security forum to be strengthened

Singapore - Asia's main security forum will be strengthened to undertake 'concrete and practical cooperation' against challenges that could undermine peace and stability, a draft document said on Sunday. The 27-member ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meets in Singapore Thursday after the conclusion of talks by foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of South-East Asian Nations. 'Despite the ARF's best efforts and its successful endeavours, security threats still exist,' a draft of the declaration said. 'Such challenges are increasingly multi-faceted and non-traditional in nature which require our common resolve to address them.' In addition to the ASEAN members, the ARF includes Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste and the United States. North Korea and Myanmar top the concerns of the forum, with the highlight bing a meeting of foreign ministers from the six nations negotiating North Korea's denuclearization. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to meet her North Korean counterpart Pak Ui-chun for the first time. Also participating in the informal talks on the sidelines of the ARF are Russia, South Korea, China and Japan. North Korea's plan to sign ASEAN's non-aggression treaty at the conclusion of the ministerial meeting was viewed as a positive signal reflecting Pyongyang's willingness to resolve the nuclear dispute amicably. They have expressed their intention to be included in a regional scheme that 'abides by a principle of living and resolving conflicts peacefully,' an analyst said. While ASEAN is expected to take a soft approach in dealing with recalcitrant Myanmar, other members of the ARF which have long regarded the grouping as ineffective have no such qualms. The junta's initial refusal to allow foreign aid or workers into the country following the devastating Cyclone Nargis or free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest infuriated some in the international community. ASEAN is moving a step closer to turning itself into a United Nations-like legal body, setting up a new committee of permanent reprentatives by January 1, 2009. Each country will appoint an ambassador to the grouping, a move that will hopefully speed up the decision-making process and actions, said Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo. 'Depending on the working style of each working senate, many of the decisions could be passed through the offices of the permanent representatives,' said ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan. The committee is part of ASEAN's efforts toward greater integration. Yeo said he was confident the ASEAN Charter, which turns the organization into a legal entity with more international clout, will be ratified by all members by the end of the year. Only Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia have not signed the document.