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SE Asia to propose new security tool for Asia-Pacific

22 May 2007 12:27:57 GMT
Source: Reuters

MANILA, May 22 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian countries are proposing a new security mechanism for Asia-Pacific that would see three foreign ministers form a rapid response team to defuse tensions in the region.

The Philippines, which holds the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said on Tuesday that ASEAN would propose such a mechanism when Asia-Pacific's main security grouping meets in Manila on Aug. 2.

Erlinda Basilio, a senior foreign affairs official, said under the proposal, the previous and current ASEAN chairs would send their foreign ministers, along with a foreign minister from one of ASEAN's 17 security partners, to deal with a potential crisis in the region.

The so-called "Friends of the Chair" mechanism already exists in the 10-member ASEAN, which used it in the 1990s to intervene in a brewing conflict in Cambodia.

Japan was among the non-ASEAN states that also helped restore stability in the poor, war-torn country.

"This will enable the chairman together with his friends to be able to respond to any emergency situation or crisis in the region and in the world," Basilio told reporters after meeting with ASEAN officials in Manila.

She said the new mechanism was needed because the ASEAN Regional Forum, Asia-Pacific's only major security grouping, meets only once a year to discuss global, regional and local security issues.

The Philippines, which will host this year's ARF meeting, said the mechanism would make ARF a relevant institution rather than a talk shop among the world's powerful states, including the United States, Russia, China, India, Japan and the EU.

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Last updated:Tue May 22 12:31:58 2007