Indonesian foreign minister to meet with ASEAN counterparts on South China Sea row

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InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5

JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa will meet with his ASEAN counterparts in order to discuss the South China Sea issue.

His visit has been scheduled in the wake of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Cambodia, held last week, in which the participants failed to agree on a solution to the South China Sea problem.

"I will visit the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, and Malaysia to discuss with my counterparts about their stance on South China Sea issue," Marty said here on Monday, expressing hope that his efforts would result in a joint statement from ASEAN on the South China Sea dispute.

He pointed out that the failure of ASEAN to issue a joint statement on the South China Sea issue could undermine the organization.

"How can ASEAN take the central role in the region if we don`t have the same stance on certain issues?" Marty said.

For the first time since the ASEAN was established 45 years ago, the organization has failed to issue a joint statement. This can set back the establishment of a proposed Code of Conduct on South China Sea in the future.

However, the United States' Ambassador to ASEAN, David Carden, said the ASEAN`s failure to issue a joint statement in Cambodia was part of the "organization's evolutionary process."

"There`s always problem in a community. We see this as a part of the process of ASEAN becoming more mature as an organization," he said. 

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