US NAVY: SAIL BUNAKEN STRENGTHENS MARITIME COUNTRIES' TIES

Manado, Aug 18 (ANTARA) - The on-going Sail Bunaken international event in North Sulawesi can strengthen maritime countries' relations in welfare and security cooperation.

"This international event has the potential to solve maritime problems for the future interest of maritime countries," United States Navy Commander Admiral Garry Roughead said here on Tuesday.

Lasting from August 12-20,2009 in North Sulawesi, Sail Bunaken is participated in by at least 28 warships, a number of fighter planes, and 165 yachts from at least 30 countries in this International Fleet Review.

Roughead said the Sail Bunaken was and important event to strengthen cooperation relations among maritime countries because the sea can unite their perception, especially in the relation between Indonesia and the United States.

According to Roughead, the US government admired Indonesia which is made up of thousands of islands and wider maritime territory in the world.
The United States joins the Sail Bunaken at Manado Bay with Australia, Britain, the Philippines, Brunei, India, Cambodia, Malaysia, Nigeria, New Zealand, Pakistan, Portugal, China, Thailand, Singapore, Timor Leste, Brazil, Russia, Prance, South Korea, Japan, Turkey, Chili, Bangladesh, Canada, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Italy, Peru, Syria, Papua New Guinea, and the host country Indonesia.

North Sulawesi Governor SH Sarudajang said here recently that the event was expected to improve the tourism industry in the province.

He said the world's biggest maritime event in the 21st century in North Sulawesi would have a positive impact on the province's economic development, especially in the tourism sector.

"Sail Bunaken is expected to have a positive impact on the development of the tourism sector in North Sulawesi," he said.

The governor said the tourism sector was very important and if it continued to develop well, it would overcome crises of any kind.

He said the Sail Bunaken festival had something to do with the success of the World Ocean Conference (WOC) and Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) Summit from May 11 to 15 this year in Manado.