The European Union is calling on Southeast Asia to speed up trade negotiations between the two blocs to minimise the impact of the global financial crisis.

EU ambassador Vincent Picket said the two zones have made little progress since deciding to enter into free trade agreement (FTA) talks 18 months ago, Bernama news agency reported.

The European Union is calling on Southeast Asia to speed up trade negotiations between the two blocs to minimise the impact of the global financial crisis.

EU ambassador Vincent Picket said the two zones have made little progress since deciding to enter into free trade agreement (FTA) talks 18 months ago, Bernama news agency reported.

SINGAPORE, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Anti-junta activists on Saturday urged Southeast Asian leaders to bar member state Myanmar from signing ASEAN's landmark charter until it answers for its violent suppression of protests.

The Free Burma Coalition said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which stages its annual summit here next week, should also suspend Myanmar from the 10-nation bloc if it failed to adopt democratic reforms.

SINGAPORE, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Asian economic growth will remain strong this year and in 2008 despite higher energy costs and recent market turbulence, Asian Development Bank president Haruhiko Kuroda said Saturday.

He said there would be no change to the bank's latest regional growth forecast of 8.3 percent this year and 8.2 percent in 2008 -- and that developing Asia, excluding Japan, could even beat that forecast.

SINGAPORE, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Asian leaders from 16 countries will pledge to increase the region's forest cover by 2020 and promote the use of nuclear energy during their annual summit here next week.

A draft statement obtained by AFP on Saturday said the leaders will also throw their support behind a UN plan as the 'core mechanism' for tackling global warming.

SINGAPORE, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Asian leaders from 16 countries will pledge to increase the region's forest cover by 2020 and promote the use of nuclear energy during their annual summit here next week.

A draft statement obtained by AFP on Saturday said the leaders due to meet on Wednesday will also throw their support behind a UN plan as the 'core mechanism' to tackle global warming.

SINGAPORE, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - The situation in military-run Myanmar is 'not sustainable' but ASEAN leaders have a limited ability to push for change there, Singapore's prime minister said in an interview published Saturday.

Ahead of next week's Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the bloc had 'no choice' but to condemn the bloody suppression of pro-democracy protests in member Myanmar.

SINGAPORE, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - The situation in military-run Myanmar is 'not sustainable' but ASEAN leaders have a limited ability to push for change there, Singapore's prime minister said in an interview published Saturday.

Ahead of next week's Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the bloc had 'no choice' but to condemn the bloody suppression of pro-democracy protests in member Myanmar.

WASHINGTON, Nov 16, 2007 (AFP) - The US Senate unanimously adopted a resolution Friday urging an upcoming ASEAN summit to suspend military-ruled Myanmar from the grouping for its bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

The move came as President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda condemned Myanmar's military generals for the violent suppression in September, after talks at the White House.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - A UN envoy met with Malaysian leaders Wednesday as he enlists Southeast Asia's help to push for democratic reforms in Myanmar, with a source saying he wants 'real action' from regional powers.

The diplomatic source who was briefed by UN troubleshooter Ibrahim Gambari said he wants to 'see what ASEAN governments are really prepared to do' to resolve the crisis in Myanmar following its violent crackdown on dissent.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari wants Southeast Asian nations to turn their rhetoric on Myanmar into real action to achieve reforms, a senior source briefed by the diplomat said Wednesday.

The diplomatic source said Gambari wants to 'see what ASEAN governments are really prepared to do' to resolve the crisis in Myanmar following its violent crackdown on anti-government protesters.

SINGAPORE, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - Pushing through a sudden regime change in Myanmar could 'create another Iraq' and leave the country engulfed in violence, the head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) warned Monday.

ASEAN secretary general Ong Keng Yong said regime change in Myanmar would have dire regional implications and that the best outcome was to thrash out a consensus between the military and the opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

Ong said sudden change was not a realistic solution for Myanmar, one of the bloc's 10 members.

SINGAPORE, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - Pushing through a sudden regime change in Myanmar could 'create another Iraq' leaving the country engulfed in violence, the head of the ASEAN group of Southeast Asian nations warned Monday.

Ong Keng Yong said regime change would have dire regional implications and that the best outcome was to thrash out a consensus between the military and the political opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

Ong, who is secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations which includes Myanmar, said sudden change was not a realistic solution.

SINGAPORE, Oct 6, 2007 (AFP) - Any peaceful solution to the situation in Myanmar must include the military, the Association of South East Asian Nations has told a UN meeting.

Current ASEAN chair Singapore told a Security Council meeting Friday excluding the armed forces could result in more instability in Myanmar, where a bloody crackdown on protests last month left at least 13 dead and more than 2,000 locked up.

BANGKOK, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - The UN's special envoy to Myanmar wants to return to the military-ruled country next month, while Southeast Asian nations plan their own diplomatic mission there, Thai officials said Friday.

The new round of diplomacy would take place before the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in November, said Piriya Khemphol, a deputy spokesman for the Thai foreign ministry.

PARIS, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner will travel soon to Southeast Asia to press for change in Myanmar where democracy protests have been suppressed by the junta, he said Tuesday.

'I am going to leave ... in a few days,' he told journalists, without giving details. 'The most effective pressure (on Mynamar) will come from its neighbours, including Thailand,' he said.

Kouchner said he needed EU authorisation to visit Thailand as the country has been through a military coup, but he did not know if he would get it.

WASHINGTON, Oct 3, 2007 (AFP) - The United States or the European Union must spearhead an initiative with China, India, Japan and ASEAN states to prod Myanmar's ruling junta to end its brutal crackdown on dissent and embrace democratic reforms, experts say.

Two decades after the junta grabbed power, the Western policy of imposing trade, investment and diplomatic sanctions and the Asian strategy of constructive engagement have failed to bring about reforms in the resource-rich Southeast Asian nation.

SINGAPORE, Oct 3, 2007 (AFP) - Singapore said Wednesday it was encouraged by the access military-ruled Myanmar gave to a UN special envoy dispatched to voice outrage after the junta imposed a deadly crackdown on mass protests.

The envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, was passing through Singapore after ending a four-day mission to Myanmar and briefly met with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his capacity as chair of a bloc of Asian nations.

Myanmar is a member of the bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN.

BRUSSELS, Oct 2, 2007 (AFP) - A crackdown on pro-democracy protestors in ASEAN member Myanmar does not threaten to derail talks between the Asian bloc and the EU over a new free-trade pact, a European Commission spokesman said Tuesday.

'The situation in Burma should not in any way contaminate the talks we are having with the other ASEAN members,' Commission spokesman for trade issues Peter Power told AFP.

'It's quite clear that we will not conclude an agreement with Burma so long as the current regime remains in power,' he added.

SINGAPORE, Oct 2, 2007 (AFP) - Myanmar's deadly crackdown on mass protests poses a major obstacle to a proposed free trade agreement between the European Union and Southeast Asian nations, a European legislator said Tuesday.

Glyn Ford said in Singapore that the crackdown had made it impossible for the EU to sign any free trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that included military-run Myanmar.

SINGAPORE, Oct 2, 2007 (AFP) - Myanmar's neighbours have little influence over internal developments there, Singapore's foreign minister said in remarks published Tuesday.

George Yeo's comments came in an interview with The Straits Times after the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) last week expressed their 'revulsion' at Myanmar's deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters.

Singapore is the current chair of ASEAN.

SINGAPORE, Oct 1, 2007 (AFP) - Singapore warned in a letter released Monday of the grave situation in Myanmar and urged the junta to work with a visiting UN special envoy to find a way forward.

The comments were made by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a letter written to Senior General Than Shwe, the junta chief, on Saturday.

Singapore's foreign ministry released the letter as UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari returned to Myanmar's remote capital for expected talks with Than Shwe.

BANGKOK, Sept 28, 2007 (AFP) - Thailand is willing to evacuate Southeast Asian nationals from strife-torn Myanmar in the event of an emergency, the foreign ministry spokesman said Friday.

Thailand agreed to the measure at a meeting of ambassadors of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Myanmar's main city Yangon on Thursday, said spokesman Tharit Charungvat.

'They asked for our support as they considered that Thailand is the most ready and has a contingency plan,' Tharit told AFP.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - Southeast Asian nations demanded Thursday that Myanmar's military junta immediately stop using violence against pro-democracy protestors, as US President George W. Bush urged China to put pressure on the regime to move toward democracy.

As security forces swept through Myanmar's main city Thursday arresting hundreds in a brutal crackdown on the 10th straight day of protests, world outrage mounted while the US slapped sanctions on 14 junta leaders.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - For years, ASEAN used gentle diplomacy on maverick member Myanmar but Thursday's rebuke over the military-ruled state's bloody suppression of pro-democracy protests may be unprecedented, experts and diplomats say.

The unusually sharp words used by foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) demanding the military junta in Yangon immediately stop using violence against protestors also heralds a shift away from its rigid, consensus-based decision making process.

NEW YORK, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday she had addressed Myanmar's representative directly during talks with Southeast Asian officials on the violent crackdown on protests in Yangon.

Rice said after the talks in New York she welcomed a statement from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) demanding Myanmar's military regime immediately halt its violent crackdown on anti-government protesters.

UNTED NATIONS, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - In a rare move, Southeast Asian nations rounded on fellow member Myanmar Thursday demanding the military junta stop using violence against pro-democracy protestors after nine people were killed.

As security forces swept through Myanmar's main city Thursday arresting hundreds in a brutal crackdown on the ninth straight day of protests, world outrage mounted with the US slapping sanctions on 14 junta leaders.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Thursday that a statement from ASEAN calling for an end to violence in Myanmar was a victory for the thousands of demonstrators.

'This is a success for democracy and this is a success for the demonstrators in Myanmar,' Kouchner told reporters in New York, after foreign ministers from the southeast Asian group earlier called for an end to violence in Myanmar.

'They are, the ASEAN countries, the only ones able to make efficient pressure on Myanmar,' Kouchner said.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - Myanmar would issue a visa to UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari, who has been dispatched by the world body's chief to defuse global anger over the violent crackdown in the Southeast Asian state, Singapore's foreign minister George Yeo said Thursday.

The ASEAN foreign ministers, who met here, 'welcomed' Myanmar's foreign minister Nyan Win's 'assurance that a visa would be issued to Mr Gambari in Singapore,' Yeo told reporters.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - ASEAN has told its member state Myanmar the bloody crisis in the military-ruled state is eroding its 'credibility,' Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said Thursday.

'The ASEAN foreign ministers expressed their concern to (Myanmar) minister Nyan Win that the developments in Myanmar had a serious impact on the reputation and credibility of ASEAN,' Yeo told reporters after a meeting of the 10-member group's foreign ministers.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - ASEAN foreign ministers Thursday called on the Myanmar military junta to immediately stop using violence against pro-democracy protestors, after nine people were killed in the crackdown.

'They were appalled to receive reports of automatic weapons being used and demanded that the Myanmar government immediately desist from the use of violence against demonstrators,' Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said after nearly three-hour talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 26, 2007 (AFP) - Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) began talks Thursday on the bloody turmoil in member state Myanmar, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Beleaguered Myanmar Foreign Minister U Nyan Win skipped the meeting at the last minute, instead sending ihis representative Thaung Tun, a senior government official, an ASEAN diplomat told AFP.

SINGAPORE, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - Singapore on Thursday urged Myanmar to give full access to a United Nations envoy and said it was 'deeply troubled' by reports that violence had been used against demonstrators.

Singapore is the current chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which includes Myanmar.

It said the city-state welcomed the decision by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to send special envoy Ibrahim Gambari to the military-ruled state.

BANGKOK, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said Thursday cooperation from China and India was crucial to ending unrest in Myanmar, saying Southeast Asian nations alone could not diffuse the situation.

Surayud said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations needed the backing of Myanmar's two key regional allies to help resolve the crisis.

'We have no power to push for change, so we need cooperation which will lead to negotiations,' he told Thai media on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly in New York.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 26, 2007 (AFP) - Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are to meet Thursday to discuss the bloody turmoil in member state Myanmar ahead of separate talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The top US diplomat is expected to ask the other ASEAN member states to pile the pressure on Myanmar's military rulers to end its violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests and launch a dialogue with the opposition, US officials said.

BANGKOK, Sept 25, 2007 (AFP) - Political watchdog International Crisis Group Tuesday urged UN chief Ban Ki-moon to push Myanmar allies China and India into talks with the junta amid mounting anti-government protests.

The group also called on Singapore, which currently chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to back Ban's request for Myanmar authorities to use restraint in dealing with the ongoing demonstrations.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 24, 2007 (AFP) - Myanmar's military rulers should take steps towards national reconciliation before pro-democracy protests potentially blow up into turmoil, Malaysia's foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar warned.

Speaking a day after more than 100,000 Buddhist monks and their supporters flooded the streets of Myanmar's biggest city Yangon on Monday, he said