Obama to Attend Asia Summit in Indonesia: Official

Jakarta Globe, May 26, 2011

Related articles

• Our Reasons for Going to Libya, and for Staying There - Apr 17, 2011
• Obama and Congress in Deal to Avert US Govt Shutdown - Apr 9, 2011
• Obama Under Pressure to Clear ‘Ambiguity’ From Libya Strategy - Mar 25, 2011
• Obama State Dinner for Hu Shows Dual Views of China - Jan 18, 2011
• Obama Readies for Chilly Reception With New Congress - Jan 5, 2011

US President Barack Obama will attend the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Bali on November 19, a local official said on Thursday.

Bali provincial government spokesman Ketut Teneng said US Ambassador Scot Marciel had informed the regional authorities of Obama's intention to attend the regional strategic dialogue, which also includes China and Russia.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is to visit Bali in July, when the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is holding its Regional Forum dialogue from the 15th to the 23rd, he said.

"On Wednesday afternoon, the Bali governor met with the US ambassador. He was informed that President Obama would visit Bali this November to attend the East Asia Summit," Teneng said.

"Hillary Clinton also plans to visit Bali this July in order to attend an international meeting and to check the preparations for Obama's visit," he added.

The US embassy was not immediately able to confirm either visit.

It would be Obama's second official visit to Indonesia, a mainly Muslim archipelago in Southeast Asia where the US president spent part of his childhood in the late 1960s.

Indonesia is hosting the regional dialogue in its capacity as chair of Asean, the 10-nation grouping which forms the core of the broader EAS.

The United States and Russia were admitted to the 18-nation EAS last year, but Obama did not attend the leaders' meeting in Hanoi in October, sending Clinton in his place.

Chinese President Hu Jintao is also expected to attend the summit, which closely follows meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Group of 20 rich and developing countries.

AFP

Backgrounder: 14th ASEAN Summit and related summits

www.chinaview.cn , Fang Yang, 2009-04-09 19:24:15

PATTAYA, Thailand, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The 14th ASEAN Summit and its related summits will be held here from April 10-12. The related summits are an important and integral part of the 14th ASEAN Summit held on Feb. 28-March 1, 2009 in Hua Hin, Thailand.

The Summits' theme "Acting Together to Cope with Global Challenges" captures the spirit and commitment of ASEAN, as a people-centered organization, in working for the benefit of the ASEAN peoples, together with its Dialogue Partners and the United Nations.

The summit begins in the evening of April 10, 2009 with an informal working dinner of the ASEAN leaders. ASEAN Plus One Summits with China, the Republic of Korea, and Japan, respectively, are scheduled for April 11, to be followed by the ASEAN Plus Three Summit and ASEAN Summit Plus One with India in the afternoon.

On April 12, the East Asia Summit (EAS), or the so-called ASEAN Plus Six Summit, will be held amongst the leaders from the ASEAN member countries and the leaders of six ASEAN dialogue partners, namely China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. In addition, the 3rd ASEAN-UN Summit is scheduled to be convened on April 12, 2009. This summit will be an opportunity for ASEAN leaders and Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, to discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest including development, food and energy security, climate change, disaster management, and issues of the global financial crisis.

12th ASEAN-China Summit

The leaders of ASEAN member Countries and China will review the development of ASEAN-China relations in the past years and discuss how to further deepen relations between the two sides. Among others, a speedy implementation of ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement will be emphasized. In addition, they will also exchange views on regional and international issues affecting the region.

12th ASEAN-Japan Summit

The leaders of ASEAN member states and Japan will meet and review the developments in ASEAN-Japan relations during the past years and discuss how to further deepen relations between the two sides. At the meeting, the leaders will be presented with a report of the ASEAN-Japan Eminent Persons Group (EPGs) which will recommend measures to deepen and broaden ASEAN-Japan strategic partnership in the coming years.

12th ASEAN-Republic of Korea Summit

The leaders of ASEAN member states and ROK will review the developments in ASEAN-ROK relations during the past years and how to further enhance relations between the two sides. The President of ROK is also expected to announce the holding of the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit on June 1-2, 2009. The situation in the Korean Peninsula will also be discussed.

12th ASEAN Plus Three Summit

The leaders of ASEAN member countries, China, Japan, and Republic of Korea will meet and review ASEAN Plus Three cooperation with emphasis on regional cooperation in response to food and energy security, and natural disaster that affect the region. The summit will also endorse the establishment of ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Fund with an initial fund of three million U.S. dollars to support the implementation of the 2nd Joint Statement on East Asia Cooperation and the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Work Plan. In response to the on-going food and energy prices volatility, the leaders of ASEAN Plus Three will adopt the Chiang Mai Statement on ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation on Food Security and Bio-Energy Development.

4th East Asia Summit (EAS)

The leaders of ASEAN member countries, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and Republic of Korea will meet to discuss on strategic issues of common interest and concern that affect the region. The summit this year will focus on the issues such as food and energy security, global financial situation, and disaster relief cooperation and management. The Leaders also expect to adopt the Chiang Mai Statement on EAS Disaster Management which will tap expertise in the region on disaster response and relief.

3rd ASEAN-UN Summit

The 3rd ASEAN-UN Summit is scheduled to be convened on April 12, 2009 in Pattaya, Thailand. The leaders of ten ASEAN member states will meet with the secretary-general of the UN and heads of agencies and programs in the UN system. The summit aims at promoting and strengthening ties and cooperation between ASEAN and the UN in various aspects beneficial to the peoples in the region.

These topics may include: impacts of the current global financial crisis and measures such as social protection to help cushion the impacts affecting the peoples; cooperation to achieve internationally agreed development goals including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); cooperation in disaster management to explore ways to enhance capacity in the region including Post-Nargis recovery efforts; cooperation to strengthen food security in the region through, for example, resource management, especially, water resources.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The ASEAN Summit and Indonesia’s national interests

Jusuf Wanandi, The Jakarta Post, JAKARTA | Thu, 03/19/2009 10:57 AM

The ASEAN Summit at Hua Hin, Thailand, two weeks ago had as its main theme: “The ASEAN Charter for ASEAN People”. It was argued that the Charter provides the legal and institutional framework for ASEAN to become a more rules-based, effective and people-centered organization realizing an ASEAN Community by 2015.

First and foremost is the idea of a people-centered organization. For over 40 years ASEAN was a government-oriented organization. It had been elitist and was always organized by and among bureaucracies. But the Charter has no article or explanation on how to involve or deal with the people and people’s organizations, although it aspires to become people-centered.

It seems that governments never have the real intention to involve the people in deciding on ASEAN’s development. ASEAN is supposedly for the people and not by the people but by governments, as went the Enlightenment philosophy and propaganda of 18th century kings.

The human rights body, which is the embodiment of a people-centered ASEAN, could not be finalized, because several member governments do not want a body that could scrutinize their abuses and apply sanctions. Without such power it will not have any meaning for the ASEAN peoples as represented by their civil societies. And it also will have no credibility to the international community.

With that background, it was understandable that the two representatives from Cambodia and Myanmar were not allowed by their respective leaders to meet the ASEAN leaders during the Summit. And the Secretariat had to suffer for the “mistake” of organizing something without the specific consent of those two leaders.

The Charter can never overcome the ideological and political divide that exists in ASEAN. That is the reason why, according to the Charter, everything should be agreed upon by consensus. This is a major constraint that will become a major obstacle for ASEAN to deepen its integration that would be necessary for the organization to meet future challenges.

If the necessary integration is not going to happen because ASEAN is still based on absolute sovereignty, with consensus as the way to make decisions, then ASEAN cannot become a real community, and it cannot have a leading role in institution-building in East Asia. More importantly, it cannot take the necessary decisions to face the immediate challenges of the severe financial and economic crisis we are now facing.

Rhetoric alone will not be adequate to overcome the new challenges. Deeds are needed, and they are not forthcoming. The chairman’s statement of the ASEAN Summit mentioned the importance of free trade, and yet three countries, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, have announced a “buy local” policy as a natural response to the crisis. It took six months for ASEAN to organize a Summit to discuss the crisis. Even then, except for the rhetoric, not much action has been taken.

The increase of the size and the multilateralization of the Chiang Mai Initiative were really an ASEAN + 3 effort that has been prepared for more than a year, but it is doubtful that it can help solve the current crisis.

The FTA with Australia and New Zealand has long been overdue, but it does not occupy an important part in ASEAN’s trade. The ASEAN single market as promised by the ASEAN Economic Community idea for 2015 has yet to be worked out diligently and consistently by ASEAN bureaucracies despite the unfolding crisis. ASEAN’s further credibility will depend on the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint.

In conclusion, it could be said that ASEAN is still important for good neighbor policies, and should be maintained by Indonesia. But Indonesia neither should nor could depend on ASEAN to face future challenges. For that it should look to other East Asian institutions, trans-Pacific as well as global ones. In the end, Indonesia should be able to pursue her own national interests through bilateral relations, regional institutions, such as the APT, EAS, ARF and APEC, as well as global ones, such as the G20 and the UN.

It may be necessary for the East Asian region to establish an overarching summit to deliberate on strategic issues, including traditional security issues, with the participation of the United States.

We have always been able to pursue our national interests through these different institutions before, and we should continue to strengthen them. The period of depending on ASEAN alone, which has been considered as the cornerstone of our foreign policy, should be over.

The writer is vice chair of the Board of Trustees, CSIS Foundation, Jakarta

SE Asia's political clout grows with the rise of China and India

Lilian Budianto, The Jakarta Post, Bangkok, S'pore | Tue, 02/24/2009 1:02 PM  

Southeast Asia's political leverage on the global stage is on the rise thanks to its ability to keep the big powers' interests in the region in balance, but officials and experts warn of greater challenges in the future amid the current global woes. 

Southeast Asia has played a pivotal role in creating regional political stability in Asia amid the rise of China and India in the continent that has seen economic domination by Japan for decades. 

ASEAN leaders have managed to bring Japan, China and South Korea under one umbrella - the ASEAN +3, after decades of prolonged hostility among the three. 

India, Australia and New Zealand later joined the ASEAN +3 to form the East Asian Summit. 

With its success in balancing between Japan, China, South Korea and India, ASEAN now has to defend its leverage on the global stage and prove its ability to manage the imminent delivery of a new US political and economic agenda for the bloc. 

ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said Washington was now taking ASEAN seriously after it had taken a back seat to more pressing issues in other regions. The United States became the first country in the world to appoint an ambassador to ASEAN in a surprise move many believed was designed to step up its ties with the region, which has become increasingly influenced by China. 

The recent visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to East Asia and Indonesia has also hinted that Asia is high on Washington's agenda as it tries to cope with domestic economic turmoil and declining international influence. 

"Eleven countries have appointed ambassadors to ASEAN, beginning with the US," Surin said recently. "That was during the time when the US was perceived to not be paying too much attention to ASEAN, as the US secretary of State missed the opportunity to meet with our foreign ministers at our annual meetings in July many times for many reasons, for preoccupation with other regional issues." 

Despite ASEAN's success in avoiding tilting toward any one major power, the threat of ASEAN becoming the ground for a "proxy war" could be imminent, as some member states have actually moved closer toward certain major powers. 

Myanmar has developed strong trade ties with China and India amid economic sanctions from the West; countries along the Mekong River, including Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos have seen heavy investments from Chinese companies, while Thailand and the Philippines have leaned more toward the United States with their close defense ties. 

"We are aware of such a possibility of a contest of influence *in our region* and we have to strike the right balance and use it for own benefit," an official at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta said recently. 

The official, who preferred to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the issue, said ASEAN did not want to see the US check with China or China check with India under the same forum. 

Many believe that Washington will join the East Asian Summit to exert more influence in the region by signing the prerequisite Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC), which is now under review by the government. The EAS is among a number of forums in Asia where the US has been left out, allowing China to be the single major power. 

US Ambassador to ASEAN Scot A. Marciel said recently during a teleconference interview in Bangkok that the United States did not feel threatened by China's ties with ASEAN as "there is plenty of room to cooperate with each other". 

"We've got lots of common interests although there can be differences in views and certainly we might not have same view on the situation in Burma *Myanmar*. But we see this area is not a zero sum game between the US and China at all." 

He said the US interests in the region were motivated by a desire to see it become "increasingly prosperous and stable and open to engage in international issues". 

"China extended its relations with the region and we do not have a problem with that. We respect countries within the region who want to have good relations with China as well as Japan and the US. We prefer to say that there are areas we can work together rather than rivals to each other. This is not a game in which a loss for China is a gain for the US." 

Kishore Mahbubani, dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Diplomacy at the National University of Singapore, said last week that the threat of geopolitical tension would always be present as at some point China knew that the US might get worried with the rise of Beijing and would try to contain it the same way it did with the Cold War. During the post-Cold War, Southeast Asia was divided between the non-communist ASEAN and communist Indochina, dominated by the pro-Soviet Vietnam from 1979 to 1989. 

"Geopolitical tension is always created between the world's greatest powers and the world greatest emerging powers," he said. 

"We should have seen rising tension between the United States and China but remarkably the exact opposite has happened in the last eight years. The new challenge now begins with the Obama administration and you have to wait and see what happens, but I am confident that China will manage it well," Mahbubani said.