South China Sea Disputes Dominate First Day Of ASEAN Summit

KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 (Bernama) -- The South China Sea disputes dominated the first day of the 26th ASEAN Summit hosted by Malaysia here, which began with the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting early in the morning. Malaysia's Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said ASEAN will maintain a non-confrontational approach in dealing with the disputes. He said while ASEAN had agreed to find amicable solutions to the issue and explore every avenue that would benefit all, the 10-member bloc must also send the right signals to China and make the right moves. He added that ASEAN and China must avoid any action that would be counter- productive to the peace and stability of the region. On the same development, Thailand's Foreign Minister General Tanasak Patimapragorn said that the ASEAN and China joint working group on the Code of Conduct (CoC) in the South China Sea will meet in Thailand in May for further discussions on the document's formulation. On the other hand, the proposal for a common time zone for ASEAN capitals has been put in abeyance following differing views from member states. ASEAN Foreign Ministers also conveyed their deepest condolences to the governments and people of Nepal, India and Bangladesh affected by the devastating earthquake in Nepal on Saturday. The earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale rocked the capital city of Kathmandu and the town of Pokhara in Nepal at 2.56 pm Malaysian time on Saturday. In the meantime, at the 13th Asean Economic Ministers-EU Trade Commissioner Consultations, ASEAN received recognition from the European Union (EU) for its effort and commitment to establish a single market although it might not be an easy task. The European Commissioner For Trade, Cecilia Malmstrom proposed negotiations on ASEAN-EU free trade agreement (FTA) be resumed once the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is established by year end. The EU also pledged to increase assistance to ASEAN to 170 million euro from 70 million euro over the next seven years. During the meeting, Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed emphasised the importance of ASEAN to step up its engagement with the EU to further boost bilateral relations between the two blocs. At the 12th ASEAN Leadership Forum, leaders such as Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen, Myanmar President U Thein Sein and Hong Kong Chief Executive, Leung Chun-ying attended. Hun Sen in his address said that Cambodia placed high priority on economic integration with the ASEAN Community, and considered it to be vitally important to sustain the country's economic development. He encouraged investors to invest in sectors such as small and medium sized industries, the electronic components segment, agriculture, handicraft, tourism, as well as the transport and logistic sectors in the country. Another highlight Sunday was the focus on Sultan of Perak, Sultan Dr Nazrin Shah who was conferred the ASEAN Lifetime Achievement Award for his distinguished contribution to ASEAN studies and Southeast Asia research. Apart from that, several other meetings were held including the 12th ASEAN Political-Security Council Meeting which was held simultaneously with the 13th ASEAN Economic Community Council Meeting, followed by the 16th ASEAN Coordinating Council Meeting (ACC). Sunday also saw the arrival of several heads of state/government to attend the 26th ASEAN Summit on Monday which will be chaired by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. The leaders who arrived Sunday included Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Thailand's Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-O-cha, Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III, Myanmar President U Thein Sein and Laos Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong. The first day of the summit ended with a gala dinner hosted by Najib and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor in honour of the ASEAN Heads of State/Government. -- BERNAMA