ASEAN, Burma, and the great powers

In terms of the Burma crisis, have great powers influenced positions taken by individual Southeast Asian countries at the ASEAN summit in Singapore? Two of my favorite bloggers think so.

President Arroyo of the Philippines has warned that the Philippine Senate would have “extreme difficulty” ratifying new ASEAN charter unless Burma makes progress toward democracy and frees Aung San Suu Kyi. Greg of Ten Percent writes "This is mostly from US pressure and a mooted ‘free trade’ (shudder) deal. . ."

Meanwhile, Laos and Cambodia have condemned the Western economic sanctions and called on ASEAN member countries to stay out of each other's affairs. Blogger Fonzi at Thailand Jumped the Shark sees "China . . . exercising its power behind the scenes" here.