ID :
196150
Wed, 07/20/2011 - 19:16
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/196150
The shortlink copeid
Matsumoto to attend ASEAN meetings, focus on maritime security+
NUSA DUA, Indonesia, July 20 Kyodo -
Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto arrived Wednesday in Bali to attend an annual gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and of Asian and Pacific powers that will focus on maritime security amid tensions stoked by a series of territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Matsumoto, who will join ministerial talks from Thursday between the 10-member ASEAN regional bloc and its ''dialogue partners,'' told reporters before his departure that he will express Japan's ''great interest in ensuring maritime security that supports the basis of the economy.''
Ways to address escalating tension between China and some ASEAN countries, particularly Vietnam and the Philippines, over rival claims to several island chains in the South China Sea are set to grab the spotlight at Saturday's ministerial meeting of the 27-member ASEAN Regional Forum on the Indonesian resort island.
Japan, itself engaged in a territorial row with China in the East China Sea, has echoed the United States in seeking freedom of navigation and enhanced maritime security in the South China Sea, which contains some of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
On the sidelines of the ARF meeting, Matsumoto will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and South Korean foreign minister Kim Sung Hwan to discuss the three countries' response to North Korea's nuclear programs.
North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun is scheduled to attend the ARF meeting as well.
Matsumoto will also hold talks with his counterparts from Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam on Thursday.
He will also attend meetings with ministers from the Mekong River basin countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam on Thursday and Friday to discuss economic and antidisaster cooperation.
Matsumoto said prior to his departure that he intends to explain during the ASEAN-related meetings Japan's efforts to contain the ongoing nuclear crisis in Fukushima Prefecture triggered by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and Japan's efforts to enhance nuclear safety.
The foreign minister is also expected to urge ASEAN and its partner countries not to impose excessive import restrictions on Japanese food items due to concerns over radioactive contamination amid the nuclear crisis.
==Kyodo
2011-07-21 00:16:17
Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto arrived Wednesday in Bali to attend an annual gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and of Asian and Pacific powers that will focus on maritime security amid tensions stoked by a series of territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Matsumoto, who will join ministerial talks from Thursday between the 10-member ASEAN regional bloc and its ''dialogue partners,'' told reporters before his departure that he will express Japan's ''great interest in ensuring maritime security that supports the basis of the economy.''
Ways to address escalating tension between China and some ASEAN countries, particularly Vietnam and the Philippines, over rival claims to several island chains in the South China Sea are set to grab the spotlight at Saturday's ministerial meeting of the 27-member ASEAN Regional Forum on the Indonesian resort island.
Japan, itself engaged in a territorial row with China in the East China Sea, has echoed the United States in seeking freedom of navigation and enhanced maritime security in the South China Sea, which contains some of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
On the sidelines of the ARF meeting, Matsumoto will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and South Korean foreign minister Kim Sung Hwan to discuss the three countries' response to North Korea's nuclear programs.
North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun is scheduled to attend the ARF meeting as well.
Matsumoto will also hold talks with his counterparts from Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam on Thursday.
He will also attend meetings with ministers from the Mekong River basin countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam on Thursday and Friday to discuss economic and antidisaster cooperation.
Matsumoto said prior to his departure that he intends to explain during the ASEAN-related meetings Japan's efforts to contain the ongoing nuclear crisis in Fukushima Prefecture triggered by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and Japan's efforts to enhance nuclear safety.
The foreign minister is also expected to urge ASEAN and its partner countries not to impose excessive import restrictions on Japanese food items due to concerns over radioactive contamination amid the nuclear crisis.
==Kyodo
2011-07-21 00:16:17
