News-21 Jan 13: SOUTHEAST ASIAN LEADERS SIGN HUMAN RIGHTS DECLARATION

SOUTHEAST ASIAN LEADERS SIGN HUMAN RIGHTS DECLARATION

 

Southeast Asian leaders in Phnom Penh, Cambodia endorsed a controversial human rights pact on November 18, 2012 during an annual summit in which they also focussed on bruising territorial rows and deadly unrest in Myanmar.

Heads of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) hailed their declaration on human rights as a landmark agreement that would help protect the region's 600 million people.

"It's a legacy for our children, "Philippine foreign secretary Albert-del-Rosario told reporters after the signing ceremony.

But critics said it allowed too many loopholes for ASEAN, which groups together a diverse range of political systems, from authoritarian regimes in Laos and Vietnam to freewheeling democracies such as in the Philippines.

"Our worst fears in this process have now come to pass," said' Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson.

On the day the pact was signed, leaders had to discuss the ethnic violence in ASEAN member Myanmar, where clashes in Rakhine state between Muslims and Buddhists have left 180 people dead since June.

ASEAN secretary General Surin Pitsuwan said that the violence was disturbing and risked destabilising the region.

ASEAN leaders discussed the bloodshed and included a statement referring to it in their end-of-summit communiqué.

The ASEAN event was expanded into a two-day East Asia Summit starting on November 19 that includes the leaders of the United States, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Russia.

Another point of contention during the three days of top level diplomacy in Phnom Penh was the territorial rows over the South China Sea.

ASEAN members Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, also have sometimes overlapping claims to the sea.

The ASEAN pushes for India's pro-active role. It feels that it will help contain a rampaging China and keep the group cohesive and relevant.

Philippines say no Unity over China Row : Philippines at the Summit vowed to keep speaking out on the global stage over its tense territorial row with China, as an effort by Southeast Asian nations to forge unity crumbled.

Cambodia said all 10 members of the bloc had agreed at the leaders' Summit earlier not to internationalise their disputes over rival claims to the South China Sea.

The apparent deal would have been a victory for China, which has long insisted that countries such as the Philippines should not seek support from the US.

But Philippine President Benigno Aquino insisted he had not agreed and that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen should not have promoted the alleged ASEAN 'consensus'.

"While Philippines was for ASEAN unity, it has the right to defend its national interests when deemed necessary", foreign secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters. Del Rosario said the Philippine had sent a letter to all ASEAN leaders to emphasise that there was no consensus.

ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei have claims to parts of the sea, which is home to some of the world's most important shipping lanes and believed to be rich in fossil fuels. But China insists it has sovereign rights to virtually all of the sea.

 

ASEAN Summit and India: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh responded to the urging of Association of South East Asian Nations by promising to finalise the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in services and investment.

Although Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma rolled out figures to assert that trade with ASEAN was growing by leaps and bounds, the fact remains that the $ 75 billion in bilateral trade clocked last year was only 2.9 per cent of this block's total trade. The FTA in goods also covers only 80 per cent of tariff lines compared with 90 per cent found in ASEAN's FTAs with other countries.

"India is prepared to conclude the agreement on trade in services and investment promotion before the commemorative summit in Delhi in December. This will be a strong signal of our deepening economic engagement, and will allow for rapid expansion in trade and investment flows in both directions," Dr. Singh said in his opening  remarks  at  the  India-ASEAN  Summit on November 19. During his response statement later, he felt a comprehensive FTA would be the 'springboard' for rapid expansion in economic relations with ASEAN.

With the US backing the initiative, Dr. Singh said the India-Myanmar-Thailand highway would be operational by 2016, thus opening North East India to South East Asia.

He also spoke about another alternative route through central or north Myanmar to connect Guwahati to Hanoi.

 

PM at East Asian Summit: The Indian Prime Minister on November 20^th, was at the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh. The PM met here US President Barack Obama and congratulated him on his re-election. It may be mentioned that Barack Obama was also attending the East Asia Summit which was an extended affair of the ASEAN Summit. It is understood that a second term in Oval office is unlikely to change US President Obama's positive approach to the bilateral relations with India. Obama said that India is a big part of his plans.

 

Indian PM, Wen Meet, Talk about Need to Balance Trade Relations on the Sidelines of the Summit: The occasion was laced with nostalgia, a sense of achievement while managing a complex relationship and an assurance that the new regime in Beijing is convinced that ties with India are 'important', as Manmohan Singh met with his counterpart Wen Jiabao for around 40 minutes and bade the outgoing premier farewell.

Premier Wen Jiabao recalled that it was the 14th time the two leaders are meeting in the past eight years and it could well be their last. The two leaders fondly talked about the distance they covered and the distrust they tried to address in the relationship marked by cooperation and competition

The Premier, who is also an economic visionary like Prime Minister Singh, under the Chinese system is not so much tasked with dealing with complex political issues. However, the two leaders charted out ways to take the relationship forward despite the strains arising out of border issues and other matters of mutual suspicion.

They famously shared the view that there is enough space in the world for the two countries to grow peacefully and didn't let other issues hamper the growing trade ties.

Singh also talked about the need for a balanced trade and reiterating greater market access for Indian goods and services.