RI, Australia Become First Countries To Implement EAS Maritime Partnership

VIANTIANE, Sept 9 (Antara) - Indonesia and Australia will become the first countries to implement the maritime partnership under the framework of the East Asia Summit (EAS)Conference, which was agreed upon at the ASEAN Summit held in Kuala Lumpur in 2015. "Based on our consistency to implement the EAS maritime cooperation, Indonesia and Australia will hold a meeting on maritime security in Jakarta in November this year," Indonesia¿s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said after the 11th EAS Summit at National Convention Center here on Thursday. The EAS Summit in Vientiane was attended by leaders from ASEAN member countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Brunei, the Philippines) and Australia, the United States, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, New Zealand and China. Minister Retno said the implementation in the form of increasing security in East Asia raised by Indonesia and Australia covered trans-national crimes, eradication of illegal fishing, human trafficking, especially trafficking of women and children. Indonesia is the chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) 2015-2017, which was previously held by Australia. "Both in context of EAS and IORA, Indonesia and Australia are both active and supporting each other," she said. In the context of EAS, President Joko Widodo underlined the importance of making the region strong by exercising restraint against provocative actions and respect for international laws, including UNCLOS 1982. Maritime cooperation was also discussed by President Joko Widodo and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at the Indonesia-Australia bilateral meeting at the ASEAN Villa here on Thursday morning. During the meeting, the two leaders agreed to increase cooperation in terms of regional security and prosperity.