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resident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his Philippine counterpart on Tuesday discussed economic cooperation and antiterrorism efforts, with both leaders agreeing the dispute over the Spratly Islands should be settled through talks.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III expressed his full support for Indonesia’s leadership of ASEAN to help tackle regional issues, especially disputed claims in the South China Sea.

In a joint press conference after the meeting, Yudhoyono said that Indonesia as the current chair of ASEAN would bring crucial geopolitical issues, such as the Spratlys in the South China Sea, to the summit of ASEAN leaders and the East Asia Summit of 18 countries that include the 10 ASEAN countries, China and the US.

“Indonesia feels there is a good opportunity for cooperation, especially in energy in the South China Sea, if we can hammer out a good solution over disputed areas,” he said.

“Of course, we hope the South China Sea does not become an area of open conflict but a zone of possible economic cooperation.”

Yudhoyono said that through such cooperation, the South China Sea could bring benefits to Indonesia, the Philippines and all countries in the region.

The oil and gas rich South China Sea has been claimed by China and four ASEAN members — Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei — and has sparked sporadic conflicts between the nations for decades.

Aquino, whose visit to Jakarta comes on the heels of an incident in which a Filipino ship was harassed by two Chinese patrol boats near the Reed Bank, ruled out any use of unilateral military action to solve the dispute.

“With regards to joint exploration [in the area], that is an idea that has been proposed a few decades past but perhaps we should continue the talks with other claimant countries. There is no room for unilateral action in that particular region,” he said.

“Hopefully we will be able to move forward a little bit more in terms of utilizing the resources in that particular region for the benefit of all claimant nations.”

Both leaders also agreed to step up efforts to combat transnational crimes in the region.

Yudhoyono said regional cooperation, such as the exchange of intelligence, needed to be increased and improved.

“There must be no area in the region that can be allowed to remain a safe haven for terrorists, corruption or transnational crimes,” he said.

Aquino agreed that terrorist networks had no boundaries, adding that preventing them from migrating could help antiterrorism measures.

The two countries also agreed to boost economic cooperation, with bilateral trade reaching US$3.89 billion last year, up from $2.9 billion in 2009.