Philippines and Indonesia begin talks this week

Philippines and Indonesia begin talks this week

MANILA (AFP): The Philippines and Indonesia are to hold
bilateral talks this week to discuss issues ranging from trade,
maritime boundaries to the recent developments in the South China
Sea, official sources said here yesterday.

The Filipino diplomatic sources, who asked not to be named,
said the three-day discussions starting Wednesday would involve
senior ministers from both countries.

On Friday, Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas is scheduled
to arrive for talks with Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo
Siazon, they added.

Aside from discussing measures to bolster trade and
investment, the two Southeast Asian neighbors are also expected
tackle closer cooperation in the fields of forestry, agriculture,
communication, defense, education, energy and tourism, the
sources said.

Jakarta -- the Philippines' 15th largest trading partner --
enjoyed a US$293.12 million surplus in two-way trade with Manila
which totaled $437.78 million last year.

Indonesian investments, however, totaled only $175,000 in
1994.

Jakarta is supervising peace talks between the Philippine
government and the Moslem rebel group, the Moro National
Liberation Front, to end more than two decades of fighting in the
southern Philippines.

On regional issues, both sides are expected to discuss the
progress of the emerging East ASEAN Growth Area (EAGA), which
includes the Philippines' southern Mindanao island, east
Malaysia, east Indonesia and Brunei, as well as the security
situation in the disputed Spratly islands.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations groups Brunei,
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and new
member Vietnam.

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, along with
China and Taiwan, have laid partial or entire claims on the
Spratlys -- a potentially oil-rich chain of coral reefs and
atolls in the South China Sea.

The discussions are expected to focus on how to defuse tension
in the area sparked by China's missile-testing exercises last
month near Taiwan and Beijing's perceived expansionist
intentions.

Indonesian and Philippine officials are also expected to
briefly touch on efforts to delineate their maritime borders.

But a more extensive discussion of the issue is scheduled
during a separate meeting in the southern Philippine city of
Davao in November, Filipino Foreign Undersecretary Rodolfo
Severino said.