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Philippine to kick off ASEAN, RCEP meets

Leaders from the 10-nation ASEAN and its dialogue partners are gathering in the Philippine capital for the 31st ASEAN Summit and related meetings

Tama Salim (The Jakarta Post)
Manila
Fri, November 10, 2017

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Philippine to kick off ASEAN, RCEP meets

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eaders from the 10-nation ASEAN and its dialogue partners are gathering in the Philippine capital for the 31st ASEAN Summit and related meetings.

The summit, held from Friday until Tuesday, is the second part of an annual meeting of ASEAN leaders.

In addition to ASEAN state members, leaders from Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, the United States, Canada, the European Union and the United Nations will also convene in Manila for high-level talks.

Preparatory meetings commence at the senior officials’ level on Friday, as the bloc seeks to finalize about 55 outcome documents, according to one estimate by Indonesian representatives.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will preside over the summit plenary session, when ASEAN leaders will discuss the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, the summit organizing committee said on Thursday in a press release.

The ASEAN 2025 vision document charts the path for community building over the 10 years since the ASEAN Economic Community was established at the end of 2015.

ASEAN leaders, including President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, are to discuss “the way forward” for the road map and exchange views on pressing regional and international issues.

An Indonesian diplomat has said that dialogue partners are likely to raise issues like the South China Sea dispute, tensions on the Korean Peninsula and the struggle of Palestine, as well as non-traditional security threats such as terrorism and drug trafficking.

The leaders will also raise the issue of appointing a new secretary-general to replace Vietnamese incumbent Le Luong Minh, the press release said.

Minh is wrapping up his term in December and is to be replaced by a nominee from Brunei who is to serve until 2022, said Chandra Widya Yudha, Jakarta’s lead negotiator on political-security affairs.

Duterte is also expected to chair ASEAN’s 40th anniversary commemorative summits with the US, Canada and the EU, the 20th ASEAN Plus Three Summit, the 20th ASEAN-China Summit, the 19th ASEAN-South Korea Summit, the 20th ASEAN-Japan Summit, the 12th East Asia Summit, the 15th ASEAN-India Summit and the ninth ASEAN-UN Summit.

“These meetings will review and take a look at the future direction of cooperation within these mechanisms,” ASEAN chair the Philippines said in the statement.

At the closing ceremony on Tuesday, Duterte is to hand over the ASEAN chairmanship to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is to take the mantle next year.

Celebrating half a century of existence this year, ASEAN has emerged as the world’s second most successful regional organization after the EU, with the added bonus of a relatively peaceful and stable environment that became a precursor for an economically prosperous Southeast Asia.

Examples of ongoing efforts abound for the region’s continued economic integration, including the ongoing drafting of an ASEAN-led free trade agreement.

Leaders of ASEAN and six main dialogue partners Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand will also assemble for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Leaders’ Summit, bringing the slowly progressing issue up to the highest level of government.

The Foreign Ministry’s director general for ASEAN affairs, Jose AM Tavares, recently hinted that the RCEP was likely to be pushed back from its target for conclusion at the end of this year, citing difficulties in compromising with certain dialogue partners.

The Indonesian delegation for the RCEP Summit at the ministerial level will be led by Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Darmin Nasution and supported by experienced negotiator Imam Pambagyo from the Trade Ministry.

Separately, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir revealed that Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines will hold an informal ministerial level meeting on Sunday to follow up on the situation in the southern Philippine town of Marawi, which had until recently been under a five-month siege by local terrorists inspired by the Islamic State group.

Additionally, Arrmanatha said there were also plans for President Jokowi to hold bilateral talks with his counterparts from Japan and New Zealand, as well as a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

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