ASEAN to get in sync with partners<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali<\/p>\n
In their bilateral summit with the Association of Southeast
\nAsian Nations (ASEAN) on Wednesday, the leaders of China, Japan,
\nSouth Korea and India, expressed their support for the Bali
\nConcord II as a solid platform to achieve an ASEAN Community
\nbased on political-security, economic and sociocultural
\ncooperation, the summit chairperson President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The four dialog partners also told the 10 ASEAN leaders they
\nwere ready to support the regional group in countering terrorism
\nand other forms of transnational crimes, as well as the
\nestablishment of ASEAN economic integration. They are also
\ncommitted to participating in the establishment of an Asian Bond
\nas an alternative for regional financing and the efforts on
\ncontaining and preventing SARS, HIV\/AIDS and other communicable
\ndiseases.<\/p>\n
\"The leaders (also) discussed several important issues such as
\nthe nuclear question on the Korean Peninsula, the future of East-
\nAsian Cooperation, poverty alleviation, human resources
\ndevelopment and the development of infrastructure for ASEAN
\nintegration,\" President Megawati stated as she read from her
\nprepared speech after presiding over four separate sessions with
\nthe dialog partners.<\/p>\n
The President described the summit with Chinese Prime Minister
\nWen Jiabao as productive. During the meeting ASEAN and China
\nexpressed their hope that the existing disputes between some
\nASEAN members and China on the issue of the Spratly islands would
\nbe resolved by peaceful dialog.<\/p>\n
\"We also agreed to continue consulting on China's intention to
\naccede to the Protocol to the Treaty on the Southeast Asia
\nNuclear Weapons Free Zone,\" said the President.<\/p>\n
\"We observed that political and security cooperation between
\nASEAN and China had matured over the years. We agreed to further
\nenhance ASEAN-China relations and partnership to strengthen trade
\nand investment, technical cooperation, cultural and social dialog
\nto promote stability and prosperity in the region.\"<\/p>\n
In the ASEAN-Japan Summit, the leaders agreed to promote a
\ncomprehensive economic partnership and to engage in security
\ncooperation in fighting terrorism, the fight against piracy and
\ncross-border issues.<\/p>\n
\"We agreed that partnership between ASEAN and Japan had
\ncontributed to peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-
\nPacific region,\" the statement said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the ASEAN leaders did not sign any formal agreement
\nwith South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun. President Roh briefed
\nhis hosts about the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula and
\nthe next round of Six-Party Talks on the nuclear issue.<\/p>\n
\"We hoped that the next round of talks would be held soon to
\nmaintain the momentum for dialog, and that the ASEAN Regional
\nForum (ARF) could be utilized as a forum to discuss this
\nparticular issue, since the parties are members of ARF,\" the
\nPresident emphasized.<\/p>\n
The last summit session was held with Indian Prime Minister
\nAtal Behari Vajpayee, where he proposed further cooperation in
\nagriculture, biotechnology, human resources development and agro-
\nprocessing. The leaders also agreed to set up a working group on
\nagriculture.<\/p>\n
\"ASEAN leaders expressed satisfaction at the rapid development
\nof ASEAN-India relations and cooperation within a short period of
\ntwo years as an ASEAN dialog partner,\" the President concluded.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asean-to-get-in-sync-with-partners-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}