US proposal for Asian sea security cooperation gets no response:

US proposal for Asian sea security cooperation gets no response: official

Agencies Yogyakarta

In a clear sign of distaste, members of a regional security forum on Wednesday gave no response to a U.S. proposal for regional cooperation to combat sea piracy and terrorism threats in Asia- Pacific waters, including the Strait of Malacca, during a forum's meeting in Yogyakarta.

At the same gathering, Washington also had to back down on a clause calling for the "denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula in a draft statement made by the senior officials meeting of the ASEAN Region Forum (ARF).

"The U.S. presented their idea... but there was no response. I don't know what they will do with the proposal," said Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Marty A. Natalegawa.

He was speaking after a meeting of senior officials from the 23-member ARF. The forum includes the 10 states in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) among its 23 members.

Indonesia instead proposed a seminar on maritime security and Malaysia agreed to host it by the end of the year, Marty said, adding that the U.S. had offered to be a co-sponsor.

"It's an in-house proposal. Indonesia and Malaysia recognize all recent concerns. Our point has always been that all this has to be done regionally, not something that is imposed from outside," Marty said.

The U.S. proposal calls for sharing information on maritime activities and cooperation to improve the capability of countries to deal with threats such as piracy and terrorism, a Canadian delegate said.

"The proposal does not call for a standing naval force or a joint patrol," the delegate told AFP earlier on condition of anonymity.

Marty said cooperation on maritime security was part of an ASEAN security community proposed by Indonesia.

"One of the main elements is cooperation on maritime issues, precisely to identify ideas and to have plans because otherwise in this absence of ideas other countries come and force plans on us," he said.

The top U.S. military commander in the Asia-Pacific, Admiral Thomas Fargo, said last month that the U.S. was considering deploying special forces in the Malacca Strait as part of its counterterrorism efforts. However, the U.S. later said there was no such plan.

Indonesia and Malaysia rejected the suggestion, saying only the countries sited along the crucial waterway should protect it.

The U.S. also had to back down on a clause calling for the "denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula.

"There was an intense debate on the ARF draft statement on non-proliferation which was being made by the U.S.," said Makarim Wibisono, director of Asia-Pacific Affairs at the Indonesian Foreign Ministry which hosted the two-day meeting.

North Korea, a member of the ARF, objected to efforts made by James Kelly, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs, to include a clause in the meeting's concluding statement that called for a "denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula as a crucial element for regional peace, said Makarim.

After separate discussions between the senior ministers of North Korea, China, the U.S. and Indonesia, it was decided to drop the clause and replace it with a call for further talks between the six parties currently involved in the non- proliferation debate in North Korea.

The North Korean senior official attending the ARF meeting complained that the U.S.'s clause on "denuclearization" was biased, said Makarim.

Kelly was not immediately available for a comment.

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