South-East Asian foreign ministers began a two-day meeting in the Thai capital of Bangkok yesterday, including talks ranging from drug trafficking to Indonesia's ethnic and religious strife.
The Thai Prime Minister, Mr Chuan Leekpai, opened the 33rd Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) ministerial meeting, which will also discuss a plan to speed the bloc's response to the array of security, economic and social problems that plague its diverse membership.
"Issues such as illicit drugs, trafficking of women and children, transnational crime and environmental degradation all represent obstacles to our development," Mr Chuan told the opening ceremony.
"With ASEAN's membership enlarged to include all 10 countries of South-East Asia, the challenge before us now is how to deepen our co-operative endeavours," Mr Chuan said.
Cambodia joined ASEAN in 1999, completing a body grouping Brunei, Burma, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The environmental hazard of smog from forest fires in Indonesia polluting large parts of the region is expected to be raised.
Jakarta is under further pressure because of fighting between Muslims and Christians in the Moluccas. However, the Foreign Minister, Mr Alwi Shihab, is expected to relay to the meeting Indonesia's rejection of calls for international intervention to end the violence that has killed thousands since early 1999.
The two-day meeting precedes ASEAN talks running until July 29th also involving China, Japan and South Korea and wider bilaterals and regional security discussions bringing in the US, Russia and the EU among others.
North Korea will join for the first time as a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum, meaning the consultative security grouping will represent 37 countries.
The US said on Sunday it was still unclear whether the Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright, would meet the North Korean Foreign Minister, Mr Paek Nam-Sun, tomorrow due to the ongoing Middle East peace talks.
Thailand's proposal for a "troika" of decision-makers to speed the bloc's often sluggish response to crises seemed to have been diluted during preparatory meetings. The model is inspired by the EU's practice of having the current president head a three-way decision-making group to take the lead on ad-hoc issues.
The Thai Foreign Ministry's permanent secretary, Mr Nitya Pibulsonggram, said on Saturday any "troika", comprising the immediate past and future ASEAN chairs along with the current one, would require the bloc's consensus. ASEAN officials also took a tentative step towards protecting citizens' rights with their first look at plans for a regional human rights commission.
The proposal is for a body with powers to investigate rights violations in signatory states, either on its own initiative or at the request of other signatories or recognised rights groups.