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laiming to have contributed to the solution-finding process in the South China Sea territorial dispute, Indonesia has offered a helping hand in addressing the growing tension in the East China Sea in a '€œneutral'€ way.

While many may view Jakarta as reluctant to be decisive, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Sunday that Indonesia '€œis not apathetic'€ about the overlapping claims by China, South Korea and Japan in the East China Sea, which had also triggered protests by the US.

'€œWhen there was a deadlock in the South China Sea dispute, we took the initiative even though we are not among the claimants. Our efforts were recognized,'€ the President said, suggesting that such efforts could also be done for the East China Sea dispute.

'€œIndonesia cares about finding fair and peaceful solutions in our regions. That is our ideology,'€ Yudhoyono told a press conference at the Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta on Sunday.

The President, First Lady Ani Yudhoyono and delegates had just returned from Tokyo, Japan, where he joined other Southeast Asian leaders and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to attend a commemorative summit.

Issues about the territorial dispute reportedly overshadowed the summit with leaders raising the issue in their statements.

Japan asked its Southeast Asian partners to help resolve the issue during last week'€™s ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit in Tokyo, which many saw as an attempt to put pressure on Beijing.

But Yudhoyono took a very diplomatic stance and declined to take sides on the issue, by saying, '€œgood relations between Japan and China are critical to the future of our region'€.

'€œWhen we gathered in Tokyo, the economic issues were actually nothing new other than Japan and ASEAN making commitments to enhance cooperation. But the atmosphere and most of the attention were driven by the tensions in the East China Sea. There were serious discussions on the issue,'€ the President said.

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa echoed the opinions of other ASEAN leaders about the importance of promoting international rules on airspace, amid concerns about Chinese military assertiveness that has raised regional tensions.

China'€™s recent announcement of an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) that covers islands in the East China Sea, which are controlled by Tokyo but also claimed by Beijing, triggered protests from Japan, the US and South Korea. '€œThe strained situation in East Asia remains, and in the South China Sea the situation has yet to calm down. So, it is relevant now for the partnership to enter a political dimension,'€ said the President.

In Tokyo, Yudhoyono also had a bilateral meeting with Abe, as well as a meeting with Japan'€™s top CEOs.

'€œThe meeting also included CEOs from 15 top Japanese companies who have businesses in Indonesia. They indicated that they wanted to increase their business and investment in Indonesia,'€ he said.