Bali Declaration seeks unity, not super conflict and competition

Bali (Indonesia), Nov.19 (ANI): Seeking to chart out a course free of conflict and to prevent the ASEAN from becoming a battle ground for US-China conflict, the ten Asian countries said Saturday that there is a need to speed up regional integration, as this is the main issue facing the grouping.

The Third Bali Declaration of the 19th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the regional bloc demands more effective cooperation mechanisms to fulfill their groupings aspirations by 2015.

In the text, the member countries-Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Myanmar-undertook to promote better coordination to solve problems of mutual interest and to have a common stance in international forums.

The Bali Declaration also called for the peaceful solution of conflicts and the promotion of conciliatory initiatives referring to the sovereignty dispute over the East China Sea and the Khmer Temple of Preah Vihear.

The member countries also committed to monitoring naval security in South East Asia, aiming at declaring the region free of nuclear weapons, and protecting it better from the affects of climate change.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said the declaration was signed by 10 heads of state, namely Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah from Brunei Darussalam, Laotian Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, Myanmar President Thein Sein and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

There are also Filipino President Benigno Aquino III, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dun and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The declaration said Marty, could reflect ASEAN's performance in facing global challenges.

"It will improve ASEAN's role in the global community," he said in Nusa Dua.

The declaration covers three pillars-politics-security, economy and socio-culture.

In the politics-security sector, Bali Concord covers conflict resolution, trans-national crime eradication, piracy, corruption eradication and nuclear weapon eradication.

In the economy sector, it arranges ASEAN's participation in the global economy and strengthening ASEAN's economic capacity. The socio-culture pillar covers the management of natural disasters and education.

Welcoming the declaration, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose country assumes the chair of ASEAN, expressed his full support to the declaration's commitment of "Zero New HIV Infections, Zero Discrimination, Zero AIDS Related Deaths", and the Bali Declaration on the Enhancement of the Role and Participation of Persons with Disabilities in the ASEAN Community as well as the ASEAN Declaration on Unity in Diversity towards the ASEAN Community Enhancement, etc., according to a special envoy of the National Television of Cambodia (TVK).

He also welcomed the ASEAN Framework on Equitable Economic Development and the ASEAN Framework on Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

Hun Sen also took the opportunity to thank ASEAN countries for having provided urgent relief aid to Cambodian flood-affected victims. By Smita Prakash (ANI)