Jakarta Post - The inclusion of Timor Leste into ASEAN is unlikely to be accomplished during Indonesia’s leadership tenure this year, since members of the regional grouping have yet to reach a consensus.
“I’m not sure it will be this year. The process has just begun, so we have yet to fully discuss the issue. We need to work on this with all ASEAN members,” Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said Tuesday.
“I’m not sure it will be this year. The process has just begun, so we have yet to fully discuss the issue. We need to work on this with all ASEAN members,” Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said Tuesday.
On the sidelines of the conference of the Non-Aligned Movement in Nusa Dua, Marty held a bilateral meeting with Timor Leste Foreign Minister Zacarias Albano da Costa during which he informed his counterpart that it was still a work in progress.
ASEAN leaders are bracing for the upcoming ASEAN Summit and East Asia group Summit in November in Bali, during which Indonesia’s tenure will end.
Marty said that a road map was needed to accelerate the process, while presenting the issue again at the next ASEAN ministerial meeting in July.
“Ideally for us, all this should be formulized this year, but if there is not yet a consensus, then we should have a road map.”
“What we need is probably some kind of an agreement in principle of Timor Leste belonging to the ASEAN family of nations, and then we can begin making the road map.”
Indonesia has also been working together with Timor Leste in establishing its road map for ASEAN membership capacity building.
In March, Timor Leste lodged the proposal, which was circulated by Indonesia to the nine other ASEAN member states, recommending that the matter be given “urgent attention”.
However, there are reports that Singapore is opposed to the proposal. The main concern is that the newly independent state remains too weak to contribute to ASEAN community building, while possibly widening the gap among ASEAN countries and stalling the vision of an integrated ASEAN by 2015.
However, Marty said, Indonesia believed that it would be better to work with Timor Leste from the beginning of the process, and in the long run, having Timor Leste in ASEAN will further enrich the spectrum of views within the group.
“It is without doubt whatsoever that Timor Leste is part of Southeast Asia in terms of geopolitics, economy, culture. And you can’t have a community in Southeast Asia by excluding one country that would just look in from the outside,” he said.
“We will not always have the same views, but at least [including Timor Leste in ASEAN membership] would enrich debates and discussions.”
ASEAN leaders are bracing for the upcoming ASEAN Summit and East Asia group Summit in November in Bali, during which Indonesia’s tenure will end.
Marty said that a road map was needed to accelerate the process, while presenting the issue again at the next ASEAN ministerial meeting in July.
“Ideally for us, all this should be formulized this year, but if there is not yet a consensus, then we should have a road map.”
“What we need is probably some kind of an agreement in principle of Timor Leste belonging to the ASEAN family of nations, and then we can begin making the road map.”
Indonesia has also been working together with Timor Leste in establishing its road map for ASEAN membership capacity building.
In March, Timor Leste lodged the proposal, which was circulated by Indonesia to the nine other ASEAN member states, recommending that the matter be given “urgent attention”.
However, there are reports that Singapore is opposed to the proposal. The main concern is that the newly independent state remains too weak to contribute to ASEAN community building, while possibly widening the gap among ASEAN countries and stalling the vision of an integrated ASEAN by 2015.
However, Marty said, Indonesia believed that it would be better to work with Timor Leste from the beginning of the process, and in the long run, having Timor Leste in ASEAN will further enrich the spectrum of views within the group.
“It is without doubt whatsoever that Timor Leste is part of Southeast Asia in terms of geopolitics, economy, culture. And you can’t have a community in Southeast Asia by excluding one country that would just look in from the outside,” he said.
“We will not always have the same views, but at least [including Timor Leste in ASEAN membership] would enrich debates and discussions.”
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar