Southeast Asian nations opened their annual meeting Monday after issuing their strongest rebuke to fellow member Myanmar over the failure of the country's military junta to make progress on political reform. A bubbling border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, both of which belong to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, was also expected to be discussed at the five-day enclave in Singapore, together with North Korea's nuclear program, inflation and cooperation in disaster relief. Asia may be a much more stable and peaceful region than before, but its “long-standing tensions and rivalries” give ASEAN an opportunity to play a useful role as “a neutral platform” for mediation, said Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in an opening speech. “ASEAN is no longer just a talk shop, but a maturing community of nations,” he said. At the end of a working dinner Sunday, the ministers issued a statement expressing “deep disappointment” that Myanmar's junta had extended the detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi by another year, the sixth straight year that she has remained under house arrest in her dilapidated villa. The joint statement was an unprecedented criticism of Myanmar by ASEAN, the region's main bloc, whose members usually do not interfere in each other's domestic affairs. A joint statement issued after formal meetings Monday was less harsh, but reiterated the demand that all political detainees, including Suu Kyi, be released in order to “pave the way for meaningful dialogue involving all parties concerned.” “We urged Myanmar to take bolder steps toward a peaceful transition to democracy in the near future,” the statement said. Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win had earlier held out a glimmer of hope that Suu Kyi would be freed within six months at the end of the maximum six-year period that a political detainee can be held by law, Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said. ASEAN's statements reflect its deep frustrations with Myanmar's junta, which has kept Suu Kyi in detention for 12 of the last 18 years. ASEAN is also fed up with criticism from the international community for not putting enough pressure on Myanmar. The ministers also urged Cambodia and Thailand to “exercise utmost restraint” in their border dispute over an area near an ancient temple in Cambodia that was recently designated a World Heritage Site. Both countries have sent troops to the area and talks on Monday did not resolve the dispute. Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Banh said progress was made but he acknowledged that tensions remain high.
