South China Sea workshop to stay informal: Alatas
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia asserted yesterday that it has no intention of upgrading the South China Sea workshop into a inter- governmental forum.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas in Batam, Riau, after opening the seventh workshop on managing potential conflicts in the South China Sea Saturday, told journalists that it would be better for the meetings to remain informal and more of an academic exercise.
"This is not possible and was never our intention," Alatas was quoted by Antara as saying on the possibility of the workshop becoming a more formal government forum.
The workshop is organized by the Indonesian foreign ministry's Agency for Research and Development in cooperation with the Canadian Information Development Agency.
It brings together experts and officials to discuss ways and means of cooperating in the South China Sea.
The strategically located area, believed to be rich in natural resources, is being disputed by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Apart from representatives from the disputing parties, delegates from Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand and host Indonesia are also participating in the four-day workshop.
Clinging to the principle of finding mutual areas of cooperation rather than tackling issues of controversy, the workshop in its past six meetings has only pursued non-political and non-sensitive issues.
It is hoped the forged cooperation at the non-political level will seep through to a higher plain and create an atmosphere of confidence building.
Last year delegates agreed to forge cooperation in monitoring tide levels while the previous year a similar agreement was made on biodiversity.
Critics however have brushed aside the workshop as being a mere talking-shop. The fact that participants attend and speak on a private capacity has been highlighted as a weakness of the forum.
Alatas argued yesterday that many of the initiatives introduced by the workshop have been incorporated in the agenda of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).
The ARF is a political security forum hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Alatas added that it would be unlikely for the workshop to become an inter-governmental forum since Taiwan is a participant.
Most countries, including Indonesia, adhere to a "one China" policy of only recognizing the government of mainland China.
Alatas said an atmosphere of cooperation was crucial in toning down a mood of conflict.
"We want to alter the situation of potential conflicts into a situation conducive to mutually beneficial cooperation," he said.
He further pointed out that while Indonesia is not directly involved in the dispute in the South China Sea, the outbreak of conflict could have repercussions for it. (mds)