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.