Rice's rejection of the Laos meeting is a direct sign of Washington's
disapproval of an East Asian bloc. It is a shot across the ASEAN bow.
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China goes under.
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you in the face and watch you spit those henious fangs out with blood.
***** THE WH*RE OF B*BYL*N!!!!
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Washington's Shot Across the ASEAN Bow
July 12, 2005 21 14 GMT
Summary
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says she will not attend the
July 24 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum
in Laos because of a scheduling conflict. In fact, her decision is a
signal that Washington disapproves of ASEAN's plan to form an East
Asian bloc.
Analysis
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, citing a scheduling conflict,
said July 11 that she will not attend the July 24 Association of
Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum in Vientiane, Laos. Although the
United States is not an ASEAN member, it traditionally takes part in
the Regional Forum (ARF), so Rice's announcement has generated a fair
amount of controversy in Asia -- as well as speculation as to why she
is skipping the forum.
Scheduling conflict aside, Rice's decision likely is a sign of
Washington's disapproval of the ASEAN initiative to create an East
Asian bloc that would include China and Japan. Furthermore, Washington
intends to show ASEAN that it cannot have a real regional dialogue
without U.S. participation -- even if it has been able to bring China
and Japan into the talks.
Suspicions that Myanmar's rotation into the ASEAN presidency is the
reason for Rice's decision are only partly correct. Certainly, the
Myanmar presidency raises a point of contention between the United
States and ASEAN member countries. Myanmar's military regime, which
took power in a 1962 coup, has often suppressed democratic movements --
one of the reasons it has been included on the Bush administration's
list of "outposts of tyranny." Myanmar, however, is at most a minor
issue with Washington, not one that would cause a U.S. boycott of the
ARF.
ASEAN ultimately aims to become the diplomatic center of a cohesive
East Asian bloc and to form a pan-Asian identity that transcends
nationalism -- similar to what the European Union has attempted. In
order to achieve this, the 10-nation organization -- which comprises
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- needs heavyweights China and Japan
included in the plan. The ASEAN leadership is aware, however, that
Beijing and Tokyo will never cooperate directly with one another, and
that East Asian collaboration must be channeled through a
trans-national organization. ASEAN is the only regional organization
that has the potential to unite the Asian nations under a cohesive
strategic policy. In the past, ASEAN has been able to bring North Korea
and the United States to the table under the ARF. Also, dialogue
between China and Japan took place under ASEAN +3 -- the ASEAN
countries plus China, Japan and South Korea.
Washington, however, sees an East Asian bloc that includes China and
Japan as a significant threat to its own regional influence,
particularly while it is preparing in the long term to challenge China.
Should Asia suddenly rally around Beijing or refuse to assist the
United States in pressuring China, Washington's strategic interests
would be endangered.
Rice's rejection of the Laos meeting is a direct sign of Washington's
disapproval of an East Asian bloc. It is a shot across the ASEAN bow.
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