ID :
134541
Sun, 07/25/2010 - 13:24
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/134541
The shortlink copeid
Asia security forum expresses `deep concern` over ship sinking
HANOI, July 24 Kyodo -
Top diplomats from Asia-Pacific countries have expressed ''deep concern'' over
the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship in March that they said stemmed
from an ''attack,'' according to a statement issued Saturday.
''The ministers expressed deep concern over the sinking of the Republic of
Korea's naval ship, the Cheonan, resulted from the attack on 26 March 2010,''
foreign ministers and other senior officials of the 27-member ASEAN Regional
Forum said in a statement issued by chair country Vietnam a day after their
one-day meeting in Hanoi.
ARF members threw their support behind a U.N. Security Council presidential
statement that condemns the attack that led to the sinking, without directly
blaming North Korea.
But there was no direct condemning or deploring of the attack in the ARF
statement, nor did it mention North Korea's denial of any involvement as the
U.N. Security Council statement did.
South Korea, Japan and the United States say a North Korean torpedo attack sunk
the Cheonan in the Yellow Sea on March 26, killing 46 South Korean sailors.
The ARF members reaffirmed their support for the complete and verifiable
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and urged members of the six-party
talks to return to the stalled dialogue, but without specifying the timing,
according to the statement.
The members failed to issue the statement Friday due to conflicting views among
North Korea, South Korea and a majority of the ARF members over wording on
North Korean issues, including the Cheonan incident.
Besides issues relating to the Korean Peninsula, the ARF participants discussed
Myanmar, South China Sea, Iran, Afghanistan and counterterrorism.
They urged Myanmar to hold a general election slated for this year ''in a free,
fair, and inclusive manner,'' while reaffirming their commitment to addressing
territorial disputes in the South China Sea by peaceful means, according to the
statement.
The ARF comprises the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus
Japan, South Korea, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, the United States,
Canada, Russia, the European Union, North Korea, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea,
Bangladesh, East Timor, Mongolia and Sri Lanka.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
==Kyodo
Top diplomats from Asia-Pacific countries have expressed ''deep concern'' over
the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship in March that they said stemmed
from an ''attack,'' according to a statement issued Saturday.
''The ministers expressed deep concern over the sinking of the Republic of
Korea's naval ship, the Cheonan, resulted from the attack on 26 March 2010,''
foreign ministers and other senior officials of the 27-member ASEAN Regional
Forum said in a statement issued by chair country Vietnam a day after their
one-day meeting in Hanoi.
ARF members threw their support behind a U.N. Security Council presidential
statement that condemns the attack that led to the sinking, without directly
blaming North Korea.
But there was no direct condemning or deploring of the attack in the ARF
statement, nor did it mention North Korea's denial of any involvement as the
U.N. Security Council statement did.
South Korea, Japan and the United States say a North Korean torpedo attack sunk
the Cheonan in the Yellow Sea on March 26, killing 46 South Korean sailors.
The ARF members reaffirmed their support for the complete and verifiable
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and urged members of the six-party
talks to return to the stalled dialogue, but without specifying the timing,
according to the statement.
The members failed to issue the statement Friday due to conflicting views among
North Korea, South Korea and a majority of the ARF members over wording on
North Korean issues, including the Cheonan incident.
Besides issues relating to the Korean Peninsula, the ARF participants discussed
Myanmar, South China Sea, Iran, Afghanistan and counterterrorism.
They urged Myanmar to hold a general election slated for this year ''in a free,
fair, and inclusive manner,'' while reaffirming their commitment to addressing
territorial disputes in the South China Sea by peaceful means, according to the
statement.
The ARF comprises the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus
Japan, South Korea, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, the United States,
Canada, Russia, the European Union, North Korea, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea,
Bangladesh, East Timor, Mongolia and Sri Lanka.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
==Kyodo
