ASEAN IS FOUNDATION OF EAST-ASIA AND PACIFIC: MINISTER

Jakarta, Jan 8 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government considered the concept of East Asian community or the Asia Pacific region can not be realized without the ASEAN Community as its main foundation.

This was stated by the Foreign Minister in his annual press statement in Nusantara Room, Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jakarta, Friday.

"Therefore, the ASEAN Community and the various processes of 'ASEAN +', ARF, APEC and the East Asia Summit, became the road to East Asia, where ASEAN continues to play a major role," said the foreign minister.

He added that it is the vision that will continue to guide Indonesia in carrying out its foreign policy in the region in 2010.

However, the foreign minister said, it must also be stressed that the government needs to ensure that Indonesian is ready for national connectivity to make full use of community development efforts in the region.

The Foreign Minister further said that the democratic transformation of Indonesia since 2003 in line with the evolution of ASEAN towards an ASEAN Community is not a coincidence.

"To Indonesia the evolution of ASEAN towards a more open community based on the democratic principles and good governance, is needed to ensure there is no discontinuity between Indonesia and the regional transformation," said Natalegawa.

Therefore Minister Natalegawa expected that the ASEAN Community 2015 is expected to be realized on time with the ASEAN charter implementation in 2010.***