France, East Timor sign non-aggression treaties with Asean

CEBU — France and East Timor signed non-aggression treaties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) yesterday — a sign of both countries’ hopes for stronger trade and diplomatic ties with the regional grouping.

The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) requires the two countries to renounce the use or threat of force against ASEAN members, stresses non-interference in signatories’ internal affairs and allows for arbitration of disputes by a tribunal.

It is also a prerequisite to enter the East Asia Summit, a 16-country bloc spearheaded by the ASEAN that was launched in December 2005 as part of ambitious efforts to chart a pan-Asian community.

French minister for European affairs Catherine Colonna and East Timorese foreign minister Jose Luis Guterres signed the treaty during the ASEAN annual summit here yesterday.

France would be the 11th country outside ASEAN — and the first European one — to sign the treaty, after Australia, China, India, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, South Korea, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and Russia.

France has so far had little strategic interest in Southeast Asia, but its accession to the treaty is considered a sign of Paris’ aspirations for deeper economic and political engagement with the region.

The French embassy in Manila said "France is particularly proud to be the first European Union member state to accede to the TAC."

East Timor, meanwhile, has voiced hopes of becoming an ASEAN member within the next few years following the tiny country’s nation-building efforts in the wake of its bloody break from Indonesian rule in 1999.

ASEAN, which is stepping up efforts for regional economic integration, could benefit from East Timor’s large oil and gas reserves once it joins the grouping.

On a bilateral level, the Philippines and France are seeking wider cooperation and intensifying collaboration in anti-terrorism efforts, security, defense, trade and investments.

Colonna and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo met on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in the Shangri-La Island Resort on Mactan island.

Romulo underscored the importance of strengthening ties with France to achieve mutual goals of securing greater peace, progress and prosperity in both countries and their regions.

"We welcome France’s expressed desire, through Minister Colonna, to broaden our cooperation in security, defense and counter-terrorism," he said. "Both countries have a stake in the fight against terrorism. To break terrorism’s backbone, positive and proactive engagement with partners like France is a vital strategy that is necessary, both for short- and long-term successes."

He said the Philippine is looking at improved information sharing, capacity building and capability and technology upgrading as possible areas of collaboration with France.

France’s policy in Southeast Asia focuses on two priorities: supporting economic and political development and strengthening integration in a broader, continent-based unit that will enable humanitarian or economice crises to be met head-on. — Pia Lee Brago, AP