ASEAN invites Japan, China, S Korea to flu meeting

Japan, China and South Korea have been asked to join a ministerial meeting of 10 Southeast Asian nations to be held May 8 in Bangkok to consider how the region can best respond to the threat posed by the deadly new strain of flu, the top ASEAN official has said.      

"Thailand has decided to invite the 'Plus Three' countries to discuss a common regional response," Surin Pitsuwan, secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said in a statement yesterday.      

Senior officials will meet a day ahead of the ministerial gathering to discuss technical, medical and scientific issues by video-link with experts of the World Health Organization, the US Department of Health and Human Services and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the statement said.      

ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.