Alatas warms up to Phnom Penh

Alatas warms up to Phnom Penh

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali
Alatas hailed on Thursday the formation of the new coalition
government in Cambodia, saying that this bodes well for Phnom
Penh's intention to join the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) this month.

"Indonesia welcomes the formation of the new coalition
government of Cambodia which signals the determination of the
Cambodian people to restore peace, stability and national unity
in their country," Alatas said in a statement.

"With the formation of the new government, Indonesia hopes
that the process for admitting Cambodia as a full member of ASEAN
will be initiated forthwith, so that the admission could take
place during the Sixth ASEAN summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, in the
middle of this month," he said.

On Tuesday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen pushed his case
for joining ASEAN at the Hanoi summit, arguing that there was no
more reason to leave his country out of the regional framework.