asem 7jun2
EU, East
Asia Press India and Pakistan for Peace Over Kashmir In a joint declaration, the 25 nations that belong to the Asia-Europe (ASEM)
Group added their voice to international appeals for New Delhi and Islamabad
"to take all necessary steps to defuse tension" over the long-disputed
Himalayan territory of Kashmir, which is divided between the two and claimed by
both.
"The increasing tensions between the two countries, accelerated by the
recent military build-up along the borders and lines of control, have
implications for the whole region and beyond," they said, according to a
draft version of the declaration distributed to journalists.
But the impact of the Euro-Asian message was somewhat undermined by the
hard-to-miss fact that only four out of 15 EU foreign ministers and six of their
10 East Asian colleagues had taken the trouble to come to Madrid for their
fourth-ever meeting.
Among the nations that opted to send senior officials in their place were
Japan, China, France, Germany and Britain.
The sorry turnout was likely to raise questions about the enthusiasm among
Europeans and East Asians to pursue the ASEM process of informal but regular
contacts, initiated six years ago.
"I also have a very, very dense schedule at home but I felt it was
important to come here and to talk to each other," said Austria's Benita
Ferrero-Waldner, one of the few EU foreign ministers on hand.
The meeting in Madrid, hosted by Spain, which currently holds the rotating
presidency of the EU, was called to lay the groundwork for a summit of ASEM
heads of state and government in Denmark's capital Copenhagen in September.
Besides expressing "deep concern" over the India-Pakistan conflict,
the meeting reviewed the scope for greater Euro-Asian cooperation in combating
global terrorism and curbing the flow of illegal migrants.
It welcomed the Myanmar government's decision to release democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, saying that ASEM "looked forward to
further positive and concrete steps towards national reconciliation" from
the junta in Yangon.
In a separate declaration on the Middle East, the ASEM partners said they
were "fully supportive of any feasibly idea" for an international
force to provide security for Israelis and Palestinians.
They also urged international efforts "to preserve, strengthen and
assist the Palestinian Authority", while at the same time calling for
"more determined action" for a halt to all acts of violence.
ASEM interior ministers met in Spain's Canary islands in April to explore
ways to cooperate in fighting illegal migration, while their economy ministers
are to hold a pre-summit huddle in Copenhagen on September 18-19.
The East Asian members of ASEM are Brunei, China, Indonesia, Japan, South
Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
MADRID -- The European Union and its East
Asian partners took their turn Friday to urge India and Pakistan to back away
from the precipice of war over Kashmir, during a foreign ministers' meeting that
was embarrassingly short of foreign ministers, AFP reported.