Asian tensions cast cloud over EU troika talks

Date: 17/07/1997

By Shada Islam

THE political crisis in Cambodia and the continuing repression of pro-democracy activists in Burma will dominate talks between an EU ministerial troika and foreign ministers from South East Asia later this month.

The EU and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) are likely to voice a shared distaste for the recent violence in Cambodia when they meet in Kuala Lumpur on 28 July.

But there will be tension over Burma, especially as the high-level Union team will be in Malaysia only days after Burma (and Laos) become fully-fledged members of ASEAN.

Despite such strains, both regions are determined to build closer economic and trade bonds.

The EU can ill afford to ignore the trade and investment potential of a region which, despite its recent much-publicised financial problems, boasts some of the world's fastest growing economies.

For its part, ASEAN wants reinforced contacts with the Union ahead of the January 1999 launch of the single European currency and the EU's planned expansion eastward.

In their discussions on Cambodia, the two sides will share their common concerns that the country could be heading for another long bout of instability and civil war.

The EU is keeping a close watch on events following the 'coup' in which Prince Norodom Ranariddh was ousted as Cambodia's 'first' prime minister by his co-premier and chief political rival Hun Sen.

Union diplomats are also monitoring ASEAN's quick response to the crisis. The association's public condemnation of the coup and its decision to delay Cambodia's planned entry into its ranks is a first for the group, which is committed to a policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other states.

“ASEAN seems to be coming around to the EU position that the internal politics of a country have an impact on foreign policy,” said one Union official.

He added that having decided to 'interfere' in Cambodia's affairs, ASEAN would have a hard time defending its dealings with “an equally repressive regime” in Burma. But ASEAN diplomats say that the situation in the two countries is completely different.

The decision to bar Cambodia from ASEAN reaffirms the organisation's commitment to the 1991 peace accords in Paris which set up a coalition government to run the country, thereby ending decades of a very bloody civil war. “We are acting to keep the peace process on track,” said an ASEAN envoy in Brussels, adding that the association had played a crucial role in clinching the Paris agreement and stressing: “ASEAN has taken on no such commitments vis-à-vis Burma.”

Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jacques Poos, who will head the EU team in Kuala Lumpur in his role as current Union president, and External Relations Commissioner Manuel Marín are expected to endorse ASEAN's efforts to solve the Cambodian crisis. “The message will be that Europe is ready to help ASEAN in its efforts to bring stability to Cambodia,” said an EU official.

But continuing differences over policy towards Rangoon are likely to sour the atmosphere.

The EU remains critical of ASEAN's policy of 'constructive engagement' towards Burma, believing that the human rights situation in the country is worsening rather improving.

The Union has already cut off high-level contacts with Burma, banned the granting of visas to Burmese government officials and withdrawn its system of trade preferences for Burmese exports. EU foreign ministers said recently that they would study 'possible additional measures' against the country in September.

EU diplomats and officials admit that Burma's membership of ASEAN will present Europe with a 'difficult practical challenge' in the coming months.

The stakes are high because, following ministerial talks in Singapore in February, both sides are working on an ambitious action plan to boost their trade and business links.

A meeting of the EU-ASEAN joint committee in Thailand in November is expected to endorse the new programme, which includes provisions for closer cooperation in the field of customs, market access, services and investments.

It is clear that Burma will not be able to join in these talks or become a member of the EU-ASEAN cooperation agreement.

The Union argues that, like Vietnam before it, Burma would have to sign a separate protocol allowing it to accede to the EU-ASEAN accord. But as things stand, there is no question of starting talks on such a protocol

- or of getting the European Parliament to approve it.

The EU team is clearly uneasy about meeting Burmese representatives at the Kuala Lumpur talks, although officials point out that Union ministers have met Rangoon's military leaders at international meetings in the past and say there is a difference between 'sitting in the same room as Burmese military representatives' and being asked to negotiate EU-ASEAN relations with them.

They add that a great deal will depend on the attitude adopted by ASEAN itself. If it decides to push Europe into dealing directly with Burma, then there is danger of a crisis in EU-ASEAN relations. Otherwise, both sides could agree on a mutually acceptable modus vivendi under which the Union would continue to deal with ASEAN's seven original members (and Laos), while Burma is kept out of the link-up.

Given the importance both sides attach to deeper relations, diplomats stress that the search is on to find a 'practical way' of dealing with the issues.

“No one is insisting that Burma must be part of the EU-ASEAN dialogue,” said an ASEAN diplomat. Nor, he added, was there any demand to make Burma a participant in the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) process launched in Bangkok last year at a summit between EU leaders and their counterparts from ten East Asian states, including ASEAN.

“Everyone wants to avoid a clash,” said one official. “What we want is to inject a new dynamic into the EU-ASEAN relationship. Differences over Burma should not be allowed to get in the way of that objective.”