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SINGAPORE: Several Singapore parliamentarians have raised questions on the future of the ASEAN Charter.
MP for Jurong GRC, Dr Ong Chit Chung, asked if ASEAN could move forward when it is still held back by what he called the "unworkable formula of decision by consensus".
He said the weakness of this formula was most obvious from Myanmar's attitude at the ASEAN Summit in November 2007, over international responses to its crackdown on protesting monks in Yangon.
Another MP, Michael Palmer of Pasir Ris-Ponggol GRC went as far as to ask if Myanmar should be suspended or expelled from the grouping if it refuses to recognise the provisions of the Charter.
The ASEAN Charter had been drawn up to make the grouping a more effective and rules-based organisation.
The MPs had spoken during the debate on the Foreign Ministry's budget in Parliament on Thursday.
Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo who rejected Mr Palmer's suggestion, gave a picture of the geopolitics involved in such a scenario.
He explained: "We do not talk about such a possibility openly, but I am quite sure that ministers and officials do consider this possibility in their own internal considerations.
“But let us push that hypothetical possibility, say we expel Myanmar from ASEAN, rid ourselves of a problem. What happens?
“Myanmar is the buffer state between China and India. China has vast interests in Myanmar; India has vast interests in Myanmar. If it is not a member of ASEAN, both sides will have to create options for themselves in that country.
“And if there is internal discord, in self-defence, each will have to interfere to protect its own self-interests. So if China and India are dragged in, I think the Americans, the Japanese and the others will also be alarmed.
“In the end, Myanmar can become an arena for big power conflicts."
When this happens, he said Singapore's own interests will be dragged in too.
So Mr Yeo concluded that "it would be better that we pinch our noses, and bear with the problem, and keep Myanmar within ASEAN's table, than to come to the conclusion that jumping out from the frying pan will land us in a cooler situation."
As for Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower and MP for Sembawang GRC Hawazi Daipi, he was concerned that the Charter "was only as good as the commitment and willingness of individual member countries to operationalise it."
And he also asked about the consequences of non-ratification by member countries.
Mr Yeo said, to date, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia and Laos have ratified the Charter.
And he was confident the remaining countries would follow suit in the coming months.
On the Filipino Congress' linking of ratification to the progress of the political situation in Myanmar, Mr Yeo said the ASEAN foreign ministers were "cautiously optimistic" that the Philippines would not hold back the ratification of the Charter.
As for Indonesia, Mr Yeo said he had learnt from the visiting German Foreign Minister who had just arrived from Jakarta, that Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirayuda said that he expects the Indonesia Parliament to ratify the Charter by June 2008.
Still on the Charter, Mr Palmer and Nominated MP Professor Thio Li-ann questioned the efficacy of the Charter's Human Rights Body.
Mr Palmer noted that while the Charter has resolved to create a human rights body, no details were outlined.
More significantly, it does not contain any provisions for enforcing human rights standards, nor detail of the terms of reference.
Mr Yeo assured Parliament that the terms of reference will be on the agenda at the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in July 2008.
He conceded that some countries preferred a body "which has no teeth" because of the concern that Western countries and NGOs will make use of it to interfere in their domestic politics. However, other countries preferred a credible human rights body.
Mr Yeo concluded: "We will have in the end a body which, while lacking in teeth, will at least have a tongue, and a tongue will have its uses." -CNA/vm
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