Peters upbeat on Asia power bloc

KUALA LUMPUR - Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters ended a series of meetings in Malaysia optimistic about the road ahead for a grouping of Asian powers that could one day rival the European Union.

Leaders from the 10 Asean countries - plus Japan, China, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia and India - are meeting in Kuala Lumpur for the East Asia Summit, the first time they have got together to talk about the possibility of a new power bloc.

Mr Peters also held a series of bilateral meetings as foreign ministers met in Kuala Lumpur to prepare the groundwork for leaders taking part in the inaugural 16-nation summit.

Prime Minister Helen Clark is due to arrive in Kuala Lumpur tonight for the summit.

While in Kuala Lumpur, Mr Peters called on his Malaysian counterpart, Syed Hamid Albar - the third time they have met in recent weeks.

They also had meetings in Busan, South Korea, ahead of the Apec meeting, and in Malta for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

During this latest meeting, Mr Peters said he had expressed New Zealand's "full commitment" towards participation in the summit and offered whatever help New Zealand could in the interests of "community building" to ensure a real result arose from the inaugural summit.

There have been suggestions the summit could sow the seeds of a pan-Asian trading bloc, along the lines of the European Union, or could just as easily end in a puff of hot air.

Mr Peters said there would always be cynics but countries were in Kuala Lumpur ready to talk.

"I am an optimist who believes they came with a serious purpose. Now obviously they've all got different views and a different foreign policy prescription in some cases.

"But the reality is they are all here and I think the work that we've got prepared for the leaders demonstrates that significant progress has been made.

"This is a leaders-led summit ... but the preparatory work by officials and by the foreign ministers has been quite substantial."

Mr Peters said New Zealand was very pleased to have been invited to the summit.

"We've got a real role to play given our past and our existing policies."

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who initially suggested the idea of an East Asian grouping to counter United States influence in the region, has resented the involvement of Australia and New Zealand.

Mr Peters said Mr Mahathir was a respected figure in the region but others had adopted a "more expansive and inclusive view". He said he hoped this summit would be the beginning of annual meetings to build "a real community".

Opposition MPs have criticised Mr Peters for taking the foreign affairs role as a minister outside Cabinet, questioning how he will handle discussions on potential free-trade deals that he personally disagrees with - such as that with China.

Mr Peters' staff say he has no problem distinguishing between the two. New Zealand and Malaysia are negotiating a free-trade deal.

Asked whether this was discussed during his meeting with Malaysia's foreign minister, Mr Peters said it did come up but not in any direct way because his talks had primarily been about the summit.

- NZPA


* Sue Eden travelled to Kuala Lumpur with the help of the Aisa New Zealand Foundation