Asia's main security forum will pledge to further develop preventive diplomacy when it meets in Singapore next Thursday, according to a draft statement. The 27-member Asean Regional Forum (ARF) includes nations from Asia as well as the European Union and the United States, which is sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the meeting.
Analysts say the ARF, founded in 1994, has never gone beyond confidence-building and dialogue, while people die in the region's numerous conflict zones. But the draft communique obtained by AFP says members will further the development of "appropriate preventive diplomacy concepts". When it was founded 14 years ago, the ARF listed as one of its objectives "significant contributions to efforts towards confidence-building and preventive diplomacy."
The draft expressed concern that security threats and challenges still exist "despite the ARF's best efforts and its successful endeavours." It says the group, whose core is the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), will further cooperate to strengthen the ARF's mandate and activities.