ASEAN on Friday morning in Nusa Dua, Bali, commenced the first of three separate summits with its partner countries China, Japan and South Korea, with China taking the first turn.
Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao posed for the media as he arrived at 8.30 a.m. in front of the Nusa Dua Room at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center, where the ASEAN-China Summit was to be held.
Wen was expected to engage in a one-hour summit with leaders of the 10 ASEAN member states, Antara news agency reported.
ASEAN has been partnering with China for 20 years. The Friday Summit was the 14th of its kind between the two parties, with security, peace and stability issues, including the South China Sea disputes, being high on the agenda.
These disputes have involved China and four ASEAN member states: Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines, and are growing more heated with the US’ recent announcement of a plan to build a military base equipped with 2,500 US marines in Darwin, Australia.
The Summit was also set to discuss ASEAN-China dialogues and cooperation in the trade, investment, tourism and education and culture sectors.
The ASEAN-Japan Summit is due to come second, with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to be in attendance. Enhancement of cooperation in the fields of economy, trade and development will be the center of the talks.
Similar topics will also be the main issues discussed in the ASEAN-South Korea Summit, with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak scheduled to present.
At 2 p.m. on Friday, ASEAN and the three partner countries will engage in the ASEAN+3 Summit.
The US is not an ASEAN partner country, but one hour has been allotted on Friday afternoon for a meeting between US President Barack Obama, who arrived in Bali on Thursday, with ASEAN chair President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
