But even if the turmoil "dented Asean's image", a Singapore foreign ministry spokesman said, its members are now "confident Asean will survive the storm".At their annual meeting, in the city-state, the group's foreign ministers will seek to impress Asean's relevance on their counterparts from the United States, European Union, Canada, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Russia and New Zealand. "Giving western countries the perception that Asean is united is most important," said Colin Ung, a researcher with the london-based Think-Tank independent economic analysis. But, he added, "A lot of kinks have to be worked out". Indeed a number of divisiveissues are sure to pop up at the 32nd ministerial meeting and the strategy planning sessions of senior officials, which start on Tuesday. Sticking points will include the disputed south China sea territories, political uncertainty in Indonesia and east timor and human rights abuses in member-state Myanmar (Burma). US secretary of state Madeleine Alright will also talk with her chinese counterpart amid the heightened tensions arising from Taiwan president Lee Teng-Hui's new concept regarding China relations as "State-to-state." The disputed spratly islands will be high on the ministers agenda, with Manila, Beijing and Kuala Lumpur among the countries now at loggerheads over many of the nearly 200 islands, Shoals and Atolls in the resource-rich south China sea. Ministers are due to consider the Philippines' proposed regional code of conduct, despite Malaysia's objections to any discussion at all of the issue. Manila's proposed code would govern claims to the islands and include a renunciation of the use orthreat of force and a ban on further occupations of territories. Another issue sure to dog the meeting will be Asean's embarrassing inability to persuade Myanmar's generals to change their repressive and undemocratic policies.