What is your Take on the reported news on Asean Plus 8......
China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand, +
United States and Russia.
Anyway My Take:
.....I just think that ASEAN with so many issued not
address...ASEAN Free Trade, Human right treatment on political
prisoner, Military Junta and Coup within Asean members state,
non interferring of member states thru consensous
building, contradiction within Asean members on moral
authority of being a civil government....than on the side
there are ARF, EACS and APEC.......it amount
to Talk show...
I wonder what is the rationale of suggesting ASEAN plus
8? The regional power house would have greater
influence on consensous anyway.
I was hopping that members from the original 6 asean stood
up and walk away from the 10 and said maybe we
should go back to the basic of intergrating SEA economies and
worked towards to create a geographically single SEA economics
basin. And not get caught with different political idealism
and proxy interest. Its already difficult to keep
original 6 together.
Strait Times....reported.
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"ASEAN leaders have agreed to study the proposal of an Asean
Plus Eight meeting, which will see the United States and Russia
meeting the 10 Asean members and six of the grouping's dialogue
partners on a regular but informal basis.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said here on Friday that Asean
foreign ministers have been tasked to study the Asean Plus Eight
proposal, along with other proposed regional architecture. There
was no timeline given on when they would report back to the
leaders.
The six Asean dialogue partners are China, Japan, South Korea,
India, Australia, and New Zealand. They are members of the East
Asia Summit (EAS), which includes the 10 Asean members. If the
Asean Plus Eight idea is endorsed, it will see the 18 countries
meeting at the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(Apec) forum whenever it is being held in Asia.
........................ "