Q+A: What's on the agenda at the Asian leaders' summit?

Tue Oct 20, 2009 5:12am EDT

By Martin Petty

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Leaders of 16 Asia-Pacific countries will meet in the Thai seaside town of Hua Hin this week for the ASEAN and East Asia Summits, a forum twice postponed because of political unrest.

Trade ties, regional security, disaster relief and human rights are among the issues up for discussion at the annual meeting which Thailand is determined to complete after a series of embarrassing mishaps.

The summit was initially scheduled for December last year but was postponed when anti-government protestors shut down Bangkok's airports. It was moved to Pattaya in April but was subsequently aborted when a rival protest group stormed the summit venue.

The 10 leaders of the Association of South East Asian Nations meet first on Friday, and then convene an East Asia summit with six other regional powers on Sunday.

WHO WILL ATTEND?

ASEAN groups Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Brunei the Philippines and Indonesia. They will be joined on Sunday by the leaders of New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, India, China and Japan for the East Asia summit.

WHICH ECONOMIC ISSUES WILL BE UP FOR DISCUSSION?

ASEAN is seeking to establish an EU-style economic community by 2015 and is due to sign an ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement in Hua Hin, which would be a major step toward that goal. But the pact could be delayed by a dispute over rice tariffs between Thailand and the Philippines.

ASEAN is also pushing for a free trade zone with Japan, China and South Korea that might expand to other regional players.

At least 42 agreements are expected to be signed this week, including the inauguration of an ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand free trade pact and an intellectual property agreement between ASEAN and China, according to Thailand's Foreign Ministry. HOW

ABOUT THE ASEAN CHARTER?

ASEAN's much-derided Human Rights Mechanism will be launched in Hua Hin. But with no power to punish members, such as serial rights abuser Myanmar, the watchdog is toothless.

Meetings will also be held with legal experts to discuss the establishment of a Dispute Settlement Mechanism, a contentious issue among ASEAN members, many of which have centuries-old rivalries which occasionally resurface.

ARE PROTESTS A THREAT TO THE SUMMIT?

Lengthy, at times violent, demonstrations are nothing new in turbulent Thailand but after "red shirt" protestors breached army lines and literally smashed their way into the venue of April's rescheduled meeting, the government is taking no chances.

More than 18,000 police and members of the armed forces, empowered by a tough Internal Security Act, have set up a no-go zone around Hua Hin to ensure there is no repeat of the chaotic Pattaya meeting, when half of the leaders were evacuated by helicopter and others effectively imprisoned in their hotels.

WILL MYANMAR BE IN THE SPOTLIGHT AGAIN?

As always at these ASEAN summits, reclusive and recalcitrant Myanmar will likely be a focus of attention, but this time it might not be so shy.

Myanmar's prime minister last month visited the United Nations General Assembly for the first time in 16 years to promote next year's elections -- the first in nearly two decades -- part of a rare charm offensive by country's military rulers. Analysts expect they will continue to try to sell the widely dismissed polls with ASEAN's backing.

WHAT ABOUT NORTH KOREA?

Three countries involved in the stalled six-party talks on North Korean nuclear disarmament will be in town -- Japan, South Korea and China -- but no substantive talks are expected.

WILL NATURAL DISASTERS BE ON THE AGENDA?

Millions of people were affected in Southeast Asia this month when Typhoon Ketsana tore through the Philippines and parts of Indochina, and a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia's Sumatra, killing at least 1,000. ASEAN is expected to push for greater cooperation on disaster relief.

A declaration on climate change is also due to be adopted.

(Editing by Jason Szep and Bill Tarrant)