AIPO confirms support for government plans
By Dwi Atmanta
DENPASAR (JP): The 18th ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) conference ended yesterday with fresh support for ASEAN governments to form common policies.
The signing of a 42-point joint communique on political, security, economic, social and organizational matters marked the closing ceremony presided over by outgoing AIPO president, Wahono.
The chairman of the assembly's working committee, Theo Sambuaga, said after the ceremony the joint communique represented the people in ASEAN countries' full support in their respective governments.
"AIPO is always committed to promoting cooperation and participation among the people of ASEAN member countries," Theo said.
Theo is also a member of Indonesia's House of Representatives Inter-parliamentary cooperation body.
During the closing ceremony, Wahono handed over his post to Malaysian parliamentary chairman Tan Sri Dato Mohamed Zahir Ismail.
Malaysia will host the next AIPO in August next year.
The assembly recognized in its joint-communique on political and security matters that diplomatic initiatives and cooperation were more effective in attaining regional security than competitions for power and military alliances.
The conference supported ASEAN's efforts to help restore political stability in Cambodia.
AIPO also refused to use any kind of foreign intervention, especially anything coercive like an economic embargo.
The assembly reaffirmed the ratification of a code of conduct for operations the South China Sea, advocated discussions on the law of the sea between eminent ASEAN representatives and their Chinese counterparts.
AIPO said ASEAN countries needed to hold meetings on the sea and called on all states concerned to examine the option of declaring sea islets demilitarized zones.
The assembly called on the international community to ban antipersonnel land mines; to continue negotiations on the nuclear nonproliferation and comprehensive test ban treaties and to support peace initiatives on the Korean peninsula.
It also strongly urged Israel to revoke its declaration naming Jerusalem as its capital and the U.S. Congress to revoke a resolution recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital of Israel.
AIPO called on the United Nations and the world community to put pressure on Israel to comply with all international agreements.
Markets
The assembly, in response to the recent turmoil in the region's foreign exchange markets, authorized the Philippine National Group to conduct further studies and host an ad-hoc committee to discuss measures to strengthen and to improve ASEAN cooperative arrangements in financial markets.
It said existing cooperation measures among ASEAN economies to stabilize financial markets were not enough.
"ASEAN must work closely to protect its interest against manipulation in financial markets," the statement says.
ASEAN central banks signed July 25 an agreement renewing a currency swap accord allowing member countries in need of liquidity to exchange its local currency for U.S. dollars provided by other members. The agreement took effect Aug. 5.
AIPO rejected any attempts to link social issues, including labor standards, human rights and democratization, to international trade and investment agreements set out in the World Trade Organization.