Synergy sought to solve South China Sea rift
Synergy sought to solve South China Sea rift
PACET, West Java (JP): Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ali Alatas suggested yesterday the possibility of finding
cohesion between the parallel tracks seeking to find a solution
to the overlapping disputes in the South China Sea.
Speaking at the opening of the eighth Workshop on Managing
Potential Conflicts in the South China Sea, Alatas said the
number of parallel processes could work in "synergy" with each
other.
"It would be worthwhile exploring the possibility of achieving
synergy between the first track diplomacy within the ASEAN
Regional Forum (ARF) and ASEAN-China dialog and the second track
diplomacy through the workshop process," he said.
The workshop brings together officials, experts and
academicians, primarily from the disputing parties, coming
together in a private capacity.
The South China Sea, said to contain rich natural reserves, is
being claimed in part or in whole by Brunei, Malaysia, The
Philippines, the People's Republic of China, China-Taipei and
Vietnam.
Some 100 participants are taking part in this year's workshop
held in the scenic mountain area 75 kilometers south of Jakarta.
Indonesia holds the workshop annually, aiming to bring the
conflicting parties together in a spirit of cooperation.
The workshop, co-organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs'
Agency for Research and Development, the Southeast Asia Research
Center and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver,
Canada, is considered a second-track approach.
The first-track approach involves a more formal venue such as
the ASEAN Regional Forum and the ASEAN-China dialog.
Alatas urged the workshop yesterday to move into more concrete
areas of cooperation.
He said participants should look beyond theoretical agreements
on projects to their practical implementation.
"I think after eight workshops and after having spent so much
time and effort... it is now time for us to move into practical
cooperative efforts," Alatas said.
The workshop is expected to review the progress made by
various Technical Working Groups and the Group of Experts Meeting
in various fields such as marine scientific research, marine
environmental protection, shipping and legal matters.
Although Indonesia is not one of the disputing parties, its
stake in the peace and stability in the area is as great and as
crucial as any of the claimants, Alatas said.
"Indonesia's security and the perpetuation of whatever
economic dynamism it has achieved depends to a great degree on
the maintenance of peace and stability in the South China Sea
area," he said. (10)