Officials are concerned as ASEAN\'s credibility could be affected if Myanmar takes the chair in 2006.
They are now saying that is not automatic, and this will depend on developments in Myanmar.
Channel News Asia
Doesn\'t sound like criticising fellow signatories to the Treaty is all that verboten. There were even plans to censure Myanmar (or Burma if you prefer); they were
dropped in the end
.
I found it ironic that Howard would say "
Don\'t confuse treaty with FTAs
" after the sly suggestions that Labor\'s disagreements with US policy might threaten ANZUS, and thus the FTA.
An odd thought occured to me while I was trying not to fall asleep on the train this morning. If Australia gets into an FTA with the ASEAN nations, does that devalue the FTA with the US? The US is a huge economy, but is it larger than the combined economies of the ASEAN member nations; especially when the US currency is showing the first danger signs of an economy going bad. And if it devalues the US FTA, does it also devalue Howard\'s compromises taken in order to get an agreement?
In my mind it does, but I was leery of the IP aspects of the FTA already so am inclined to take a dim view of it overall. Possibly the agricultural sector, especially sugar farmers, will find it of lesser value if they better markets in Asia.
My crazy conspiracy theory for the day was that Howard might be trying to sabotage Australia\'s chances of getting into an ASEAN-based FTA to keep the US treaty on its pedestal, alone. Howard\'s Free Trade Agreement.
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