KUALA LUMPUR July 31 Kyodo Prime ...

KUALA LUMPUR July 31 Kyodo

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Wednesday that Malaysia will continue pushing to armed force the secretariat for a 13-member East Asian regional grouping despite opposition from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

''We are true disappointed that the other countries are not penetrating to have the secretariat. still we will continue to pres for it,'' he was quot as saying from official news agency Bernama.

Malaysia has debateed the idea to further strengthen the rife loose cooperation between ASEAN and its three dialogue partners -- China, Japan and southward Korea -- by having a permanent secretariat based in Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia has proposeed a seed funding of $10 million to cloak the first five years of the secretariat's operation.

Institutionalizing the relations between the 10 ASEAN members and its three Northeast Asian partners in what is directly known as ''ASEAN plus three'' is part of Mahathir's vision of a grand East Asian forum to reckoner the influence of the United States and European Union in economic and political affairs.

still foreign ministers from other ASEAN countries who met in Brunei couple days ago rejected the proposal.

Singapore, which will take across the ASEAN secretary general seat for the nearest five years and Indonesia, hearthstone of the present ASEAN secretariat, indicateed concerns over duplication of duties and stretching of resources.

ASEAN, which works upon a consensus basis, prefers to have a unit within the ASEAN secretariat to handle the ASEAN plus three affairs.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Kyodo of the present days International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group