Bagus BT Saragih
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton wrapped up her mission in Jakarta to enhance ties with the
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and bolster the
grouping’s role in the South China Sea spat, China pledged to give Cambodia US$500 million in loans and grants as a token of gratitude for Phnom Penh’s move in accommodating the Asian superpower’s interests in the region.
Clinton concluded her state
visit to Indonesia by making a courtesy call on President Susilo Bambang
Yu-dhoyono and paying a visit to ASEAN headquarters in South Jakarta.
In her meeting with Yudhoyono,
Clinton discussed the South China Sea issue as well as Indonesia’s key
role in ASEAN toward producing a peaceful resolution with China
regarding the conflicting territorial claims.
“On the latest developments in the South China Sea, Secretary of State Clinton expressed the US’ appreciation for Indonesia’s role,
particularly having managed to retain ASEAN unity. Indonesia and the US
have agreed to push for a code of conduct within the zone, particularly
ahead of the ASEAN and East Asia summits in Phnom Penh in November,”
Marty, who accompanied Yudhoyono at the meeting, told a press conference
at the Presidential Office on Tuesday.
After her meeting with
Yudho-yono, Clinton held a meeting with ASEAN Secretary-General Surin
Pitsuwan to indicate US support for the 10-nation association.
Surin said that during her
visit, Clinton “extended moral support” to ASEAN for its efforts in
dealing with the South China Sea issue.
Late on Monday, Aun Porn
Moniroth, secretary of state for finance in Cambodia, which is ASEAN
chair this year, announced that Prime Minister Hun Sen had signed four
loan agreements for unspecified projects worth about $420 million when
he visited China over the weekend, Reuters reported.
Three more loan agreements,
worth more than $80 million, were expected to be signed later this year,
Moniroth said, adding that Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao had also
pledged a grant of 150 million yuan ($24 million) as “a gift” for
Cambodia to use on any priority project.
“The Chinese government also
expressed its appreciation for the part to be played by Cambodia as
ASEAN chair in maintaining good cooperation between China and ASEAN,”
Moniroth said.
According to Xinhua news agency,
Wen said that China “will coordinate with Cambodia and support the
country in order to make the upcoming series of meetings among East
Asian leaders a success”.
Cambodia was deemed the state
most responsible for the 2012 ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) fiasco. At
the meeting, which was held in Phnom Penh, ASEAN members failed for the
first time in the group’s 45-year history to issue a joint communiqué,
following fierce debates on the wording of a section on territorial
claims in the South China Sea.
Officials from several ASEAN
countries viewed Cambodia as stonewalling any efforts to change the
position of China, one of its most powerful allies.
The latest developments from
Phnom Penh could potentially undermine the shuttle diplomacy carried out
by Marty, on Yudhoyono’s instructions, only days after the AMM ended,
which Indonesia and the US see as vital to maintaining unity in
Southeast Asia.
On Wednesday, Yudhoyono, First
Lady Ani Yudhoyono and a number of Cabinet members will leave for Ulan
Bator, Mongolia to pay a diplomatic visit, and Vladivostok in Russia to
attend the APEC summit.
The trip to Ulan Bator was in
response to an invitation from Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj,
presidential foreign affairs spokesman, Teuku Faizasyah, said in a
statement.
“With the mineral-rich Mongolia,
there is the potential to forge bilateral cooperation to support
Indonesia’s energy security,” he continued.
During the APEC summit,
Yu-dhoyono is expected to have bilateral meetings with Russian President
Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Mexican President Felipe
Calderon, Peruvian President Ollanta Moses Humala, and Chilean President
Sebastian Piñera.
Clinton, meanwhile, will join
Yudhoyono in Vladivostok after touring several Asia-Pacific cities
including Beijing, China; Dili, Timor Leste; and Bandar Seri Begawan,
Brunei Darussalam.
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