Jakarta Globe, Zubaidah Nazeer - Straits Times, January 10, 2013
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| Newly inaugurated Association of Southeast Asian Nations Secretary-General, Le Luong Minh of Vietnam, left, poses with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, center, and former Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan, right, during the office handover ceremony at the ASEAN secretariat in Jakarta, on Wednesday. (EPA Photo/Mast Irham). |
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Jakarta.
The new secretary-general of Asean began his term on Wednesday by saying the
group needs to accelerate negotiations with China on a Code of Conduct for the
South China Sea.
Le Luong
Minh also hopes to bridge differences within the 10-nation bloc so that Asean
can reach its goal of becoming an integrated community by 2015.
The
61-year-old former deputy foreign minister of Vietnam is taking over at a time
of heightened tensions over territorial claims in the South China Sea.
On
Wednesday, the Philippines' Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario asked China to
explain its deployment of a patrol ship to guard disputed territory it claims
in the South China Sea.
del Rosario
said Chinese diplomats have previously said that Beijing will only assert its
claims, including by possibly intercepting foreign ships, in waters off its
province of Hainan. But China also claims that most of the South China Sea
falls under Hainan's jurisdiction, he said.
The
Philippines has asked China to specify the limits of the territory it will
guard, he said. "Everybody's hot and bothered," del Rosario said.
"That's
why we're saying, define, please define for us, but they're not
answering."
Tensions
over the South China Sea ran high during a meeting of Asean foreign ministers
in July last year, when the 10-member bloc failed to issue a joint communique
for the first time in its 45-year history. Critics fear such national interests
could drown out Asean's collective voice.
The failure
also raised concerns that increasingly assertive big powers like China could
drive a wedge in the group's unity. Four Asean nations — Brunei, Malaysia, the
Philippines and Vietnam — as well as China and Taiwan claim territories in the
South China Sea.
Minh, a
seasoned diplomat for 38 years, says more must be done to shape standards,
norms of conduct, build confidence and put in place measures to prevent
conflicts and resolve them.
"Asean
should speed up efforts towards an early start of negotiations with China, with
a view to achieving an early conclusion on a Code of Conduct on the South China
Sea," he said in his speech at the handover at the Asean Secretariat in
Jakarta.
Also
speaking at the ceremony were his predecessor, Surin Pitsuwan, and Indonesian
Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa. All touched on the importance of peace and
stability in the region.
Minh is the
first chief Asean diplomat from one of the four newer members that joined in
the 1990s. He faces a daunting deadline of bringing about an Asean Economic
Community by 2015.
"The
more open flow of investments, capital, labor, goods and services will pose
different challenges and opportunities for member states," he said.
Integration
won't be complete without narrowing the development gap within Asean, he added.
"Providing
our young people with good education is one of the most effective ways out of
the poverty trap," he said.
Surin said
that as Asean becomes the center of global growth in the next decade,
prosperity will bring in more players.
"We
cannot kick anybody out," he said.
"We
can only manage their interactions among ourselves so we can benefit and we can
help to sustain the strategic bonds that we would like to see here in the
region."
Marty said
that Indonesia, as Southeast Asia's largest country, wants to continue to play
an active role in managing this.
"Asean
must continue to be at the forefront of a regional architecture that promotes
Asia Pacific peace and stability," he said.
Reprinted
courtesy of The Straits Times
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