Japan, Indonesia to boost strategic ties, enhance maritime safety+

TOKYO, June 17 Kyodo -
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono agreed Friday to strengthen their strategic partnership by regularly holding ministerial talks on political, economic and security issues and work together to enhance maritime safety in the Asian region.
The two leaders, who jointly met the press, stressed the need to craft rules to ensure maritime safety under such regional frameworks as the East Asia Summit, following the recent escalation of tensions in the South China Sea over territorial rows between China and some Southeast Asian nations.
Kan said Japan and Indonesia, which chairs this year's meetings of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, will join hands in ''establishing common regional philosophies, strengthening rules and releasing a future-oriented joint declaration'' at the East Asia Summit to be held in Bali in November.
This year's summit will draw leaders from the United States and Russia for the first time in addition to those from China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India as well as ASEAN member states.
Yudhoyono said the regional forum is intended to ''realize peace, stability and discipline'' with commitments from various countries in the area, rather than abetting confrontations and heightening tensions.
To ensure maritime safety, Japan and Indonesia will also make joint efforts to counter piracy, the president said.
On the recent territorial disputes in the South China Sea involving China and such ASEAN countries as Vietnam and the Philippines, Tokyo has called for the rows to be resolved through talks in multilateral settings involving countries such as the United States and Japan. China says the disputes should be settled bilaterally.
As for bilateral strategic talks, the two countries agreed to regularly hold dialogues between their foreign, economic and defense ministers, according to Kan and Yudhoyono.
The Indonesian leader said bilateral economic cooperation has been successful but that there is room to further expand ties in the areas of trade, investment, food safety and energy development.
Yudhoyono, who will visit the city of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, on Saturday, to show his support for victims of the March 11 devastating quake and tsunami, said Indonesia will donate funds to establish a community center and that he expects the facility will serve as a symbol of bilateral friendship.
Kan expressed appreciation for the president's trip to one of the worst affected areas and said the two countries will step up cooperation in dealing with major natural disasters in the region.
Indonesia dispatched a rescue team to Kesennuma and other cities in Miyagi Prefecture shortly after the disasters, donated $2 million to support victims and provided relief items including 10,000 blankets and 4.5 tons of emergency food, according to Japanese officials.
The resource-rich country also provided additional liquefied natural gas supply to Japan, which faces energy shortages following the disaster-induced nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
In Kesennuma, Yudhoyono will encourage disaster victims in an evacuation shelter and temporary housing facility. He will also meet with Indonesian nurses and caregivers who offered humanitarian assistance immediately after the March calamities.
==Kyodo
2011-06-18 00:13:22