RI differs with Malaysia over East Asian block<\/p>\n
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia reiterated on Friday its stance on the presence of
\nIndia, Australia and New Zealand in the first-ever East Asian
\nSummit in Kuala Lumpur in December this year.<\/p>\n
Indonesia and Malaysia have sharp differences over who should
\nattend the summit.<\/p>\n
Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Thursday
\nthat the three countries should be excluded from the summit
\nbecause it was meant to be only the ASEAN+3 countries -- the 10
\nASEAN members along with China, Japan and South Korea.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman, Yuri Thamrin, said
\nin Jakarta that a plan to exclude those countries from
\ninvolvement in the East Asia Summit would make the group
\nineffective.<\/p>\n
\"If the participants of the East Asia Summit and the current
\nASEAN-plus-Three are still the same, it will not be beneficial,\"
\nYuri said during a press conference on Friday.<\/p>\n
\"Therefore, a number of ASEAN countries, including Indonesia,
\nsee the possibility to include countries from outside the ASEAN+3
\ngrouping, such as Australia, India and New Zealand to the East
\nAsia Summit,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The main objective of the East Asian Summit is to enhance
\ncooperation between ASEAN and Japan, China and South Korea and
\njointly move toward an East Asian Community.<\/p>\n
The ASEAN meeting in Vientiane agreed to host the summit in
\nKuala Lumpur this year. It also agreed to further discuss the
\nparticipation of Australia, New Zealand and India in Kuala
\nLumpur's meeting.<\/p>\n
The idea to host the summit was first proposed by Malaysia in
\n1990 but Indonesia objected to the proposal at that time.<\/p>",
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