China-India should apply economic leverage on Burmese junta

Sat 22 Apr 2006

Iftekhar Ahmed, Narinjara News

ASEAN should work with China and India to persuade military-ruled Burma to work towards democratic reforms, since the regional powerhouses have stronger economic leverage than other countries, ASEAN bloc chief Ong Keng Yong said.

Ong said that there is a 'certain impatience' among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations with Burma's foot-dragging on democracy, but the group has limited leverage with which to pressure the junta.

"Most of ASEAN believe that Burmese authorities can only move forward if certain leverage is applied on them," Ong told reporters as ASEAN foreign ministers began arriving on Indonesia's Bali Island before an informal retreat on Thursday.

"The best way is to work with our neighbours who have better leverage with Burma. China and India have common borders with Burma," he said.

"They are also very involved in cross-border trade, in investment, in tourism, and in other things," he added.

Burma is expected to be a key item on the agenda at the retreat in the cultural hill town of Ubud. Ong chided the two regional giants late last month, saying ASEAN should ask them to be more persuasive with Burma and that there was little point in them being ASEAN's dialogue partners if they were not contributing on the issue.

Ong also said ASEAN was disappointed that Malaysia's Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar was unable to meet detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and junta leader Than Shwe during his visit to Rangoon last month.

"There is a certain impatience because the people around the region as well as around the world say, 'you keep talking, you keep going there and then what happened?" he said. "People want to see some concrete step forward."

Syed Hamid is due to brief the ministers about his Burma trip at a working dinner on Wednesday. His Burma counterpart Nyan Win is also set to give a rundown of the visit.

Burma agreed at last year's ASEAN summit to invite Syed Hamid in the face of growing international pressure for evidence of democratic progress by Rangoon, as well as embarrassment among some members over its inclusion into the bloc.