HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Southeast Asian nations stressed that peace in the region is linked to stable U.S.-China ties, as Secretary of State Colin Powell returned here Tuesday for the first time since the Vietnam War.
Powell is attending regional security talks, which begin Wednesday. The meeting will include the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its 23 ``dialogue partners'' - including the United States, China, Russia, North and South Korea and the European Union. (Read photo caption below).
In a statement, ASEAN foreign ministers said stable relations among the major powers, ``particularly the U.S. and China,'' were important to peace in the region.
The ministers hope to persuade Powell that Washington should remain committed to Southeast Asia's security and not be preoccupied with North Asia.
The region's foreign ministers are likely to convey their message directly to Powell and Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan.
Powell, who served twice with the U.S. military in Vietnam, said it was ``very emotional'' to return. ``I'm very pleased to be back,'' he said.
Relations between the United States and China have been strained by China's holding of a U.S. spy plane, U.S. plans for a missile defense system, disputes over human rights, and a growing rapprochement between China and Russia that challenges the U.S. framework for security in the post-Cold War world.
The developments have left the ASEAN nations grappling with how to balance relations with the two powers, both of which play key security and economic roles in the region.
ASEAN, formed in 1967, has 10 members still recovering from economic crisis, more than half a billion people and some of the world's most critical sea lanes.
The ministers also:
- Welcomed the election of President Megawati Sukarnoputri in Indonesia - the region's largest and strategically most important country.
- Expressed support for talks in Myanmar between its military government and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. That conflict has endangered the security of neighboring Thailand and complicated ASEAN's relations with Western countries that maintain sanctions on Myanmar because of its human rights abuses.
South Korean Foreign Minister Han Seung-soo said participants in Wednesday's regional security forum will call on North Korea to resume a dialogue with the South. The talks have stalled since early this year, when President Bush called for a re-examination of U.S. security policy toward the North.
North Korea participated in the security talks for the first time last year. Its talks with the United States during that meeting resulted in the most important breakthrough in years in their relations.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Foreign ministry delegations of ASEAN countries pose for a group photo during the opening of 34th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministerial Meeting in Hanoi July 23, 2001. From left, ASEAN Secretary-General Rodolfo C. Severino, Myanmar's U Win Aung, Philippines' Teofisto T. Guingona, Singapore's S. Jayakumar, Thailand's Surakiart Sathirathai, Vietnam's Nguyen Dy Nien, Brunei's Mohamed Bolkiah, Cambodia's Hor Nam Hong, Indonesia's N. Hassan Wirajuda, Laos' Somsavat Lengsavad, and Malaysia's Syed Hamid Albar. (Bazuki Muhammad/Reuters)