Research projects for S. China Sea endorsed

Research projects for S. China Sea endorsed

BUKITTINGGI, West Sumatra (JP): Participants of the South
China Sea workshop have endorsed the project proposals of the
Working Group on Marine Scientific Research.

Hasjim Djalal, a resource person at the workshop and
Indonesia's Ambassador-at-large for Law of The Sea, told
reporters here yesterday the decision was made during the first
day of workshop sessions.

"We will now hear suggestions on who the appropriate sponsor
agencies, or countries, should be," he told reporters during a
break.

He declined to mention any names, but indicated that the
United Nations Development Program was one of the potential
donors, which could provide technical assistance in the
implementation of the Working Group's project.

Ian Townsend-Gault, a resource person from Canada, who has
been involved in the implementation of his country's technical
assistance and financial aid, said the form of assistance could
not be generalized, but varied between countries or agencies,
depending on the respective situation of each donor.

"The involvement of non-SCS parties will not be inside the
level of the workshop, but outside it," he pointed out, adding
that any offers from agencies and countries should be "seriously
considered".

Hasjim explained that the participation of non-SCS parties was
already agreed on in the previous workshop in Surabaya last year,
"but now the proposals in their present form can be floated to
potential assisting parties".

The decision to involve "outside" countries, he said, was made
unanimously because the participants had no objections towards
technical and financial support from non-SCS parties as long as
this was done outside the workshop level.

"What they object to is involvement in the decision-making
process in the region -- which is quite a sensitive issue," he
said. (pwn)