Singapore disapproves government change

THE coup in Cambodia -16 days before its scheduled joining of Asean - presents its neighbours and would-be trading partners with some touch decisions.

The seven-nation Association of South East Asian Nations trading bloc may be torn between its policy of non-interference in members' domestic affairs and its adherence to the principle of peaceful transfer of power.

Asean diplomats said a joint statement was being prepared, including a call for an emergency meeting to review the whole situation on Cambodia.

The consensus-driven Asean experienced the unusual phenomenon on Monday of members giving conflicting public statements on whether Cambodia should be admitted as planned at a foreign ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 23 July.

``If this fighting does not stop, obviously Asean members will have to rethink this seriously,'' Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon said.

A few hours earlier, Malaysian Acting Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Asean's position ``has not changed. . . . The commitment has already been made''.

Asean now comprises Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The group decided last month to admit Burma, Laos and Cambodia, dismissing pressure over the Burmese military junta's treatment of dissidents.

In Cambodia, ``domestic conflict should be resolved peacefully and the disputing parties should exercise restraint to prevent the situation from worsening'', Indonesia's President Suharto said.

Asean had accepted Cambodia as a member hoping to ``bring that country to a peaceful life in this region'', he said.

Several Asean governments urged restraint, called for a ceasefire and expressed concern on Monday.

Singapore's government went further, saying: ``Singapore disapproves of the change of government through violent means and calls on all parties to adhere to the constitutional processes in place in Cambodia.''

Asean has no conflict resolution or crisis mediation mechanism.

Panitan Wattanayagorn, a regional defense analyst at the Institute for Strategic and International Studies in Bangkok, suggested that Singapore, Indonesia or Thailand might be in a position to exercise leadership in that direction now.

``We're seeing Asean starting to move away from the non-interference stance because the group also recognises that at least economically, they are all interdependent. So what goes on internally in one country affects the others.''

Asean representatives said they would deal with both the country's leaders - First Premier Prince Norodom Ranariddh, and the man who has apparently overthrown him, Second Premier Hun Sen. - AP