ID :
13755
Fri, 07/25/2008 - 12:17
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https://oananews.org//node/13755
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Asia-Pacific nations agree to boost maritime security, disaster relief
SINGAPORE, July 25 (Kyodo) - Twenty-seven ministers from Asia-Pacific nations and their key partners agreed Thursday on a new cooperation framework on maritime security, especially in theStrait of Malacca, as well as further joint efforts in disaster relief and dealing with regional concerns such as North Korea and Myanmar.
With the ASEAN Regional Forum marking its 15th anniversary this year, the ministers agreed to undertake more concrete forms of cooperation to address both traditional and nontraditional security challenges confronting the region, Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo said in a chairman's statement.
The ARF gathering wrapped up a series of meetings hosted by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations this week, during which foreign ministers of the six nations involved in talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions stole some of the limelight with their first-ever gathering, albeit informally, on the sidelines.
Yeo told a concluding news conference that meetings produced ''good discussions'' on a wide range of issues covering Asia. He also noted that the six-party gathering ''turned out much better than any of them had expected'' and that ASEAN was glad to be able to provide the occasion for it to be held.
The ARF ministers agreed to strengthen cooperation efforts especially in disaster relief, counterterrorism and transnational crime, maritime security, and nonproliferation and disarmament.
On improving maritime security, the forum will launch, under Indonesia's strong initiative, a new ''intersessional meeting'' that would involve further cooperation among ARF members. Indonesia, Japan and New Zealand will jointly chair the mechanism, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.
''This is very important as maritime security in this region, including in the Strait of Malacca, and carries significance not only for the region itself but also for the world economy,'' Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura told reporters, in reference to the need to ensure security of sea lanes such as against pirates.
The ministers also engaged in extensive discussions on disaster relief and reached consensus on the need to utilize the ARF framework to better coordinate response to events like the cyclone devastation in Myanmar and the deadly earthquake in China in May, the ministry official said.
They agreed to ''explore the feasibility'' of an ARF humanitarian assistance framework involving military and civilian cooperation, and endorsed the proposal by the Philippines and the United States to conduct an ARF Disaster Relief Exercise by next year's ministerial meeting, according to the chairman's statement.
The severe impacts of soaring food and fuel prices in the region were also taken up at the meeting.
''On the whole, a lot of participants put forward the view that something must be done,'' Malaysian Foreign Minister Rais Yatim said.
There were also concerns voiced about Myanmar and the ministers urged the junta to ''take bolder steps toward a peaceful transition to democracy in the near future,'' the statement said. They also reiterated their call for the release of all political detainees and named specifically pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win, however, insisted it is a domestic affair and stressed that his government is cooperating with the United Nations, the Japanese official said.
Also on Thursday, North Korea inked a nonaggression treaty with ASEAN, formalizing its accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.
North Korean delegation spokesman Ri Dong Il told reporters, ''This reflects our intention to expand our friendly relations with all nations in the region and contribute to the region's amity and peace.''The ARF ministers welcomed recent developments of the six-party nuclear talks but emphasized the importance of the early establishment of an effective verification and monitoring mechanism of the North's nuclear activities.
Komura told reporters after the talks that he also reemphasized to his counterparts Tokyo's stance that the verification must be carried out soon and once again called for support for Japan's demand that Pyongyang resolve cases of abducted Japanese nationals.
More than 10 participating nations, including all five involved in the six-way nuclear talks with North Korea, made specific remarks agreeing on the importance of a thorough verification, the ministry official said.
Meanwhile, North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun gave no counterargument on the verification issue but said Tokyo and Pyongyang are engaged in dialogue and that his government takes its promises made to Japan in June seriously, according to Komura.
North Korea agreed last month to reinvestigate the abduction cases, which it had previously claimed to be closed.
The ARF ministers also expressed concern over the fatal shooting of a South Korean tourist at the Mt. Kumgang resort area earlier this month and their hope that the incident would be resolved expeditiously between Pyongyang and Seoul, the statement said.
Separate from the chairman's statement, the ministers adopted the Singapore Declaration commemorating the forum's 15th anniversary, in which they renewed commitments to strengthen dialogue and cooperation including by strengthening the ARF's organizational mechanism.
Initiated by ASEAN in 1994, the ARF is the only government-to-government forum in the region mandated to discuss security-related issues at the ministerial level.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
They form the ARF together with the European Union and countries including Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Russia and the United States.
Among them, North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States are members of the six-party nuclear talks.
With the ASEAN Regional Forum marking its 15th anniversary this year, the ministers agreed to undertake more concrete forms of cooperation to address both traditional and nontraditional security challenges confronting the region, Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo said in a chairman's statement.
The ARF gathering wrapped up a series of meetings hosted by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations this week, during which foreign ministers of the six nations involved in talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions stole some of the limelight with their first-ever gathering, albeit informally, on the sidelines.
Yeo told a concluding news conference that meetings produced ''good discussions'' on a wide range of issues covering Asia. He also noted that the six-party gathering ''turned out much better than any of them had expected'' and that ASEAN was glad to be able to provide the occasion for it to be held.
The ARF ministers agreed to strengthen cooperation efforts especially in disaster relief, counterterrorism and transnational crime, maritime security, and nonproliferation and disarmament.
On improving maritime security, the forum will launch, under Indonesia's strong initiative, a new ''intersessional meeting'' that would involve further cooperation among ARF members. Indonesia, Japan and New Zealand will jointly chair the mechanism, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.
''This is very important as maritime security in this region, including in the Strait of Malacca, and carries significance not only for the region itself but also for the world economy,'' Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura told reporters, in reference to the need to ensure security of sea lanes such as against pirates.
The ministers also engaged in extensive discussions on disaster relief and reached consensus on the need to utilize the ARF framework to better coordinate response to events like the cyclone devastation in Myanmar and the deadly earthquake in China in May, the ministry official said.
They agreed to ''explore the feasibility'' of an ARF humanitarian assistance framework involving military and civilian cooperation, and endorsed the proposal by the Philippines and the United States to conduct an ARF Disaster Relief Exercise by next year's ministerial meeting, according to the chairman's statement.
The severe impacts of soaring food and fuel prices in the region were also taken up at the meeting.
''On the whole, a lot of participants put forward the view that something must be done,'' Malaysian Foreign Minister Rais Yatim said.
There were also concerns voiced about Myanmar and the ministers urged the junta to ''take bolder steps toward a peaceful transition to democracy in the near future,'' the statement said. They also reiterated their call for the release of all political detainees and named specifically pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win, however, insisted it is a domestic affair and stressed that his government is cooperating with the United Nations, the Japanese official said.
Also on Thursday, North Korea inked a nonaggression treaty with ASEAN, formalizing its accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.
North Korean delegation spokesman Ri Dong Il told reporters, ''This reflects our intention to expand our friendly relations with all nations in the region and contribute to the region's amity and peace.''The ARF ministers welcomed recent developments of the six-party nuclear talks but emphasized the importance of the early establishment of an effective verification and monitoring mechanism of the North's nuclear activities.
Komura told reporters after the talks that he also reemphasized to his counterparts Tokyo's stance that the verification must be carried out soon and once again called for support for Japan's demand that Pyongyang resolve cases of abducted Japanese nationals.
More than 10 participating nations, including all five involved in the six-way nuclear talks with North Korea, made specific remarks agreeing on the importance of a thorough verification, the ministry official said.
Meanwhile, North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun gave no counterargument on the verification issue but said Tokyo and Pyongyang are engaged in dialogue and that his government takes its promises made to Japan in June seriously, according to Komura.
North Korea agreed last month to reinvestigate the abduction cases, which it had previously claimed to be closed.
The ARF ministers also expressed concern over the fatal shooting of a South Korean tourist at the Mt. Kumgang resort area earlier this month and their hope that the incident would be resolved expeditiously between Pyongyang and Seoul, the statement said.
Separate from the chairman's statement, the ministers adopted the Singapore Declaration commemorating the forum's 15th anniversary, in which they renewed commitments to strengthen dialogue and cooperation including by strengthening the ARF's organizational mechanism.
Initiated by ASEAN in 1994, the ARF is the only government-to-government forum in the region mandated to discuss security-related issues at the ministerial level.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
They form the ARF together with the European Union and countries including Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Russia and the United States.
Among them, North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States are members of the six-party nuclear talks.
