US proposal for Asian sea security cooperation gets no response<\/p>\n
Agencies
\nYogyakarta<\/p>\n
In a clear sign of distaste, members of a regional security forum
\non Wednesday gave no response to a U.S. proposal for regional
\ncooperation to combat sea piracy and terrorism threats in Asia-
\nPacific waters, including the Strait of Malacca, during a forum's
\nmeeting in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
At the same gathering, Washington also had to back down on a
\nclause calling for the "denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula
\nin a draft statement made by the senior officials meeting of the
\nASEAN Region Forum (ARF).<\/p>\n
"The U.S. presented their idea... but there was no response. I
\ndon't know what they will do with the proposal," said Indonesian
\nMinistry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Marty A. Natalegawa.<\/p>\n
He was speaking after a meeting of senior officials from the
\n23-member ARF. The forum includes the 10 states in the
\nAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) among its 23
\nmembers.<\/p>\n
Indonesia instead proposed a seminar on maritime security and
\nMalaysia agreed to host it by the end of the year, Marty said,
\nadding that the U.S. had offered to be a co-sponsor.<\/p>\n
"It's an in-house proposal. Indonesia and Malaysia recognize
\nall recent concerns. Our point has always been that all this has
\nto be done regionally, not something that is imposed from
\noutside," Marty said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. proposal calls for sharing information on maritime
\nactivities and cooperation to improve the capability of countries
\nto deal with threats such as piracy and terrorism, a Canadian
\ndelegate said.<\/p>\n
"The proposal does not call for a standing naval force or a
\njoint patrol," the delegate told AFP earlier on condition of
\nanonymity.<\/p>\n
Marty said cooperation on maritime security was part of an
\nASEAN security community proposed by Indonesia.<\/p>\n
"One of the main elements is cooperation on maritime issues,
\nprecisely to identify ideas and to have plans because otherwise
\nin this absence of ideas other countries come and force plans on
\nus," he said.<\/p>\n
The top U.S. military commander in the Asia-Pacific, Admiral
\nThomas Fargo, said last month that the U.S. was considering
\ndeploying special forces in the Malacca Strait as part of its
\ncounterterrorism efforts. However, the U.S. later said there was
\nno such plan.<\/p>\n
Indonesia and Malaysia rejected the suggestion, saying only
\nthe countries sited along the crucial waterway should protect it.<\/p>\n
The U.S. also had to back down on a clause calling for the
\n"denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula.<\/p>\n
"There was an intense debate on the ARF draft statement on
\nnon-proliferation which was being made by the U.S.," said Makarim
\nWibisono, director of Asia-Pacific Affairs at the Indonesian
\nForeign Ministry which hosted the two-day meeting.<\/p>\n
North Korea, a member of the ARF, objected to efforts made by
\nJames Kelly, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia and
\nPacific affairs, to include a clause in the meeting's concluding
\nstatement that called for a "denuclearization" of the Korean
\npeninsula as a crucial element for regional peace, said Wibisono.<\/p>\n
After separate discussions between the senior ministers of
\nNorth Korea, China, the U.S. and Indonesia, it was decided to
\ndrop the clause and replace it with a call for further talks
\nbetween the six parties currently involved in the non-
\nproliferation debate in North Korea.<\/p>\n
The North Korean senior official attending the ARF meeting
\ncomplained that the U.S.'s clause on "denuclearization" was
\nbiased, said Wibisono.<\/p>\n
Kelly was not immediately available for a comment.<\/p>\n
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