Staff writer

Japan will propose that a high-level round table between it and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations be created to discuss a range of issues concerning regional development and bilateral economic cooperation, government sources said Tuesday.

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto plans to broach the idea of a "Japan-ASEAN Development Round Table" -- as the proposed conference is tentatively named by Japanese officials -- when he meets with his counterparts from the nine ASEAN members in Malaysia later this month, the sources said.

The sources said that if the idea is accepted by the ASEAN leaders, it would be attended by deputy ministerial-level Japanese and ASEAN officials in charge of development and economic cooperation.

The meeting of top Japanese and ASEAN leaders is to be held in Kuala Lumpur on Dec. 16 alongside the annual ASEAN summit. ASEAN consists of: Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.

Although this year marks ASEAN's 30th anniversary, the mood at the forthcoming summit is likely to be tinged by the continuing economic crisis sweeping through Asia. ASEAN, once an anti-communist grouping, admitted Vietnam in July 1995 and then Laos and Myanmar in July, reaching one step short of creating an "ASEAN 10" with a combined population of some 500 million.

Cambodia's entry was postponed due to the political turmoil that resulted when First Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh was ousted by Hun Sen, the country's copremier and strong man.

Japan, the world's largest aid donor, has placed particular importance on providing official development assistance to its developing Asian neighbors, especially those in Southeast Asia. But at present, there is no high-level forum for dialogue between Japan and all of ASEAN that exclusively deals with the theme of economic cooperation, the sources said.