South China Sea workshop to stay informal: Alatas
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)