RI backs grouping of Indian Ocean
RI backs grouping of Indian Ocean
By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia supports the idea of an economic regional grouping incorporating the many countries surrounding the Indian Ocean.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas unhesitatingly expressed Jakarta's keenness when asked by The Jakarta Post about the possibility of Indonesia's participation in the group.
"We see it as a positive development," Alatas said while pointing out the various activities Indonesia is already involved in with Indian Ocean countries.
The concept of the grouping gained momentum last month when South African Deputy President F.W. de Klerk brought up the idea while visiting Prime Minister Paul Keating in Australia.
Canberra fully endorses the idea and is arranging a conference in June to discuss the formation of an Indian Ocean trade and security grouping.
A list of 37-nations are expected to receive invitations later this month.
Alatas said the group would encompass "the African countries from South Africa all the way to Tanzania in the west and the ASEAN countries all the way to Australia in the east."
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional socio-economic grouping which comprises Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Just a few weeks ago, the Malaysian foreign ministry's deputy secretary general, Abdul Halim Ali, also expressed Kuala Lumpur's empathy for the grouping.
When confronted with the question of the necessity of Indonesia to be involved in another regional group, Alatas argued that the Indian Ocean was a specter which had not been touched upon before.
"We definitely need it because this involves another region and different issues," he said, adding that the activities in this particular region, especially economic ones, need to be further stimulated.
Apart from ASEAN, Indonesia has been a key player in the 18- nation Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
Referring to Alatas' Monday statement on the sanctions imposed on Iraq, the director of information Irawan Abidin said yesterday that a Non-Aligned Movement Caucus in the United Nations Security Council is endeavoring to ease the sanctions.
Irawan stressed however that Alatas made no reference to Indonesia's views as representing those shared by all 111 NAM members.
He said that such a common view "would require a survey that is impossible to carry out at such short notice."
Meanwhile, legislator Theo Sambuaga when asked about the idea of an Indian Ocean grouping seemed less enthusiastic. He told the Post that it would probably be more effective if the existing regional organizations cooperated amongst themselves.
"It is neither relevant nor urgent," said the member of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization and former member of the House of Representative's Commission I on foreign affairs.
ASEAN has already institutionalized periodic talks with India to improve economic ties. (mds)