The European Union's chief diplomat Javier Solana heads for Manila next week to discuss global security challenges with the 27-member ASEAN Regional Forum, Asia's leading platform for discussions on international politics and security, according to dpa. EU diplomats said Solana would be in Manila from July 31 to August 2 for the ARF meeting which will also be attended by representatives from other non-Asian states including the US and Russia. "It is the best opportunity to have discussions with Asian countries on security and foreign policy issues," an aide to Solana told Deutsche Presse Agentur dpa. The EU, seeking to build stronger alliances with Asian nations on issues as diverse as counter-terrorism and nuclear non-proliferation, took the annual ARF discussions "very seriously," she said. The EU's foreign and security policy chief is expected to focus his discussions in Manila on the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea, diplomats said. Solana will also voice growing EU concern at the continuing repression of pro-democracy groups in Myanmar, including the detention of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. In articles published in several leading Asian papers ahead of his visit, Solana said the EU had a major stake in a stable and prosperous Asia. "Our political, security and economic interests are more intertwined than ever," said Solana, adding that Europe and Asia also shared a commitment to a system of global governance which effectively addresses trans-national problems. The EU and the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had worked well together on crisis-management tasks in the EU-led Aceh Monitoring Mission which supervised the peace agreement between Indonesia and Aceh rebels from 2005-2006, said Solana. A recently-deployed EU police training mission in Afghanistan also underlined the bloc's increased and long-term commitment to security and stability in Asia, he said. "We could also envisage cooperating more closely with our Asian partners in future crisis management operations on other continents," the EU chief diplomat said. Officials said the EU was keeping a close watch on moves by ASEAN to further develop inter-regional cooperation through an ASEAN charter. There are hopes the charter can be signed at an annual ASEAN leaders' summit in November. The regional grouping - now including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - celebrates its 40th anniversary on August 8 this year. ARF was founded in 1994 and remains Asia's only political and security dialogue forum.
