"ASEAN must help realize the agreements it made under Indonesia`s chairmanship in 2011."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The border conflict taking place in Southeast Asia and Asia Pacific still poses a challenge to the region, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in his state of the nation address at a joint session of the members of the House of Representatives (DPR) and the Regional Representative Council (DPD) on Thursday.
"We realize that such border disputes can trigger new tensions and negatively impact the goal of realizing an ASEAN community and stronger cooperation among countries in the Asia Pacific region," the president said.
The president also cited the example of the current border conflict taking place in the South China Sea, which involves several ASEAN member states and China.
He said even though an ASEAN ministerial meeting held in early July failed to announce a joint communiqu on account of a disagreement on the South China Sea issue, Indonesia`s proactive diplomacy has helped unite ASEAN, following which six points of agreement were issued on July 20.
The president also expressed his appreciation for all ASEAN leaders for making the negotiation of the code of conduct on the South China Sea issue their priority.
Yudhoyono added that Indonesia is strongly committed towards ensuring that agreements made by member states of ASEAN and the East Asia Summit (EAS) are implemented for the sake of the region's peace and security.
"ASEAN must help realize the agreements it made under Indonesia`s chairmanship in 2011," he said.
Realizing the formation of an ASEAN community by 2015 is an important step for countries in the Southeast Asia region in the bid to share one vision, one identity and one community, Yudhoyono said. (T.G003/Uu.A051/INE/KR-BSR/F001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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