Members of the Assn. of South East...

Members of the Assn. of South East Asian Nations have agreed that they should not rush into a proposed economic group that would include the United States, Japan and others.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas, speaking for ASEAN, said the six countries were committed to further talks on the proposed Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, but they did not want to institutionalize the grouping too quickly.

ASEAN, formed in 1967, comprises Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Some ASEAN ministers are worried that their interests could be overlooked in the proposed new economic group, which would include the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.