"Nothing is unsatisfying, everything is positive," Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia said it was satisfied with the outcomes of the 32nd ASEAN Summit that was held in Singapore from April 27 to 28, 2018.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, after the ASEAN Summit activities in Singapore on Saturday, told reporters there was no summit result that was not satisfying.

"Nothing is unsatisfying, everything is positive," she said.

According to Retno, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) was very pleased to be able to present the concept of Indo-Pacific development in the forum. During the forum, Jokowi called on ASEAN to maintain active role including in the development of Indo-Pacific regional cooperation concept.

ASEAN must be able to play its role including in the development of the cooperation concept of Indo-Pacific. The concept is important to keep ASEAN relevant, always able to play its centrality and show its capability in managing strategic environmental change.

The big challenge is in the Indo West Pacific region. Failure to cope with the challenge, could lead to disruption of what ASEAN has achieved so far. Development of Indo-Pacific cooperation should be based on the principle of transparency and inclusive, with emphasis on cooperation and friendship.

The concept presented by President Jokowi during the 32nd ASEAN Summit`s retreat received positive support from Vietnam and Thailand.

Retno also said that there were several issues raised in the meeting which included the openness of the economy. "Almost all heads of state are talking about the commitment to make the ASEAN economy open and fair, so the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations are really encouraged to be completed by the end of this year," she said.

"What is appreciated is our role in the RCEP in addition to our commitment to ASEAN as shown by the new ASEAN Building," she said.

ASEAN has asked Indonesia, as the coordinator of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, to conclude the negotiations with six partner countries soon.

"All the member countries have asked Indonesia, as the coordinator country, to conclude the discussion of RCEP during the leadership of Singapore. Hence, we will make as maximum effort as possible to finalize the RCEP," Indonesian Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita stated at Hotel Shangrila in Singapore on Saturday.

The six partner countries are Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand.

In addition, ASEAN also welcomed the meeting between the two heads of state of North Korea and South Korea.

The Government of Indonesia voiced the hope that the Inter-Korean Summit held on Friday at Panmunjom in the Demilitarised Zone would help bring peace to the Korean Peninsula.

"Indonesia welcomes the outcomes of the Inter-Korean Summit and hopes it will pave the foundation for long lasting peace in the Korean Peninsula and bring prosperity for the people of both countries," Retno Marsudi.

She said Indonesia had been closely following the Inter-Korean Summit. "Indonesia also hopes that the Inter-Korean Summit can be the beginning of a Korean Peninsula region free of nuclear weapons," Marsudi said.

The issue of Rakhine State also surfaced, prompting the President of Myanmar to provide updated information on the development of resettlement issues for Rakhine State refugees.

"Several heads of state expressed concern, so the President of Myanmar conveyed updates on these developments," he said.

Related to the South China Sea, the summit discussed the unification of ASEAN`s position and the agreement to strengthen the Code of Conduct (CoC) in it. The South China Sea disputes over islands and maritime claims involve a number of countries including China, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

According to Coordinating Minister for Law, Security and Political Affairs Wiranto, Indonesia does not want to be involved in South China Sea conflict.

Indonesia hopes that no country would ignite fire in that conflict area, Wiranto said on the sidelines of the 32nd summit conference of ASEAN in Singapore on Saturday.

Wiranto denied suggestion about Indonesia`s involvement in the South China Sea conflict, saying, "I said there is no conflict. There is no border problem with any other country." The spirit of self restraints from involvement in conflict is important to keep peace and security prevailing in South China Sea.

Foreign Minister Retno said that Indonesia`s role in ASEAN was appreciated in the ASEAN Summit. "What is appreciated is our role in the RCEP in addition to our commitment to ASEAN as shown by the new ASEAN Building," she said.

In the previous meeting, the ASEAN Secretary General presented a new building and its use so that more future ASEAN sessions will be carried out in Jakarta using the facilities.

"Then there is the appreciation, for example from Thailand, who frankly expressed gratitude to Indonesia who has submitted the concept of Indo-Pasific development," he said.

Retno concluded that the whole result of the meeting was positive from the perspective of Indonesia.

The 32nd ASEAN Summit was held on 27-28 April 2018 and was attended by heads of state/government of ASEAN member countries including President Jokowi.

Indonesia itself in addition to following the entire series of summits also held a bilateral meeting with Myanmar and Vietnam and held the 11th Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) meeting in Banyan Room, Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore.

(T.A014/A/A014/B003)

Reporter: Andi Abdussalam
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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