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THE BANGKOK DAILY, NATION REVEALS IT WAS SINGAPORE’S RAJARATNAM WHO PREVENTED SRI LANKA JOINING ASEAN

By Walter Jayawardhana

The Bangkok daily Nation publishing an interview with a knowledgeable diplomat revealed that it was Singapore’s then Foreign Minister Sinnathamby Rajaratnam who blocked Sri Lanka’s entry to the Association of South Asian Nations (ASEAN) family four decades ago at the very beginning of the group.

The newspaper publishing an interview with a close aid to the then Thai Foreign Minister said that Sri Lanka failed to enter the regional body because Singapore’s Rajaratnam made objections to the island nation’s entry to the organization saying the domestic situation was unstable and that would adversely affect the newly formed organization.

Ironically, independent Singapore’s first Foreign Minister Sinnathamby Rajaratnam was a Singaporean Tamil of Sri Lankan origin.

The Nation interview revealed that Sri Lanka sent two ministers to apply for membership in the regional organization August 6 1967 when Foreign Ministers from Indonesia, Malysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore met to prepare the Bangkok Declaration which gave birth to ASEAN.

Quoting the retired Thai diplomat the Nation newspaper said it was Rjaratnam who snubbed the Sri Lankan application preventing island nation joining the nascent organization at the Bang Saen Beach meeting where the first meeting was held.

Sompong Sucharitkul (75) a former aid to the Thai Foreign Minister told the newspaper, "It was Rajaratnam of Singapore who opposed the inclusion of Sri Lanka, He argued the country's domestic situation was unstable and there would be trouble. Not good for a new organization."

Sompong was a close aide to Thanat Khoman, the Thai foreign minister at the time of the meeting in Bang Saen. The Bangkok Declaration was finally signed on August 8, 1967, ASEAN's official birthday.

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