ASEAN signs landmark charter, with watered-down human rights body to appease Myanmar

SINGAPORE — Southeast Asian leaders adopted a landmark charter Tuesday but their vision to create an EU-style bloc faced hurdles because of concerns over Myanmar, whose military rulers have defied international calls to restore democracy.

The pact will collapse if one country fails to ratify it. The Philippines has warned that its Congress would be hard-pressed to do so unless Myanmar upholds the charter's principles of democracy and human rights and releases pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

On Monday, the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations abruptly withdrew an invitation to U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari to address Asian leaders after Myanmar objected.

They further rejected calls to suspend Myanmar from the bloc to punish the junta's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters that left 15 people dead in September, and its refusal to free Suu Kyi.

"ASEAN leaders will strive to prevent the Myanmar issue from obstructing our efforts to deepen integration and build an ASEAN community," Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his opening remarks at the annual summit.

Still, ASEAN leaders urged Myanmar's junta to open a "meaningful dialogue" with Suu Kyi, release her from house arrest, free all political detainees and work toward a "peaceful transition to democracy."

ASEAN's Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong insisted the body was not kowtowing to Myanmar, also known as Burma, by shelving Gambari's scheduled address on Wednesday.

"We don't want to come across as being too confrontational in a situation like this," Ong told reporters.

Gambari arrived at the summit venue — a luxury hotel in downtown Singapore — and launched into private meetings with officials from Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.

However, China — which has the most influence over the isolated Southeast Asian nation and is its largest trading partner — won't hold a special meeting with Gambari, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang.

Qin said the purpose of China's attendance at the ASEAN meeting was to improve cooperation with Southeast Asian nations. He said China and ASEAN want to help Myanmar settle its disputes, but that outside pressure only hurt.

Qin also insisted that there has been positive developments in Myanmar, but he declined to elaborate.