11.   Opposition parties painted that as yet another attempt by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to protect the privilege of the powerful central bureaucracy.

12.   The changes have been advertised as the first step in fulfilling a four-year-old plan to cut central bureaucracy and limit its control of the economy.

13.   The group has resisted the idea of building a large central bureaucracy to run ASEAN affairs, with officials saying they wanted to keep the group flexible.