Making headlines: Jokowi (third left) delivering his remarks as Bangladesh’s President Mohammed Shahabuddin (third right) listens during the East Asia Summit at the Asean Summit in Jakarta. — AP
President Joko Widodo or Jokowi as he is popularly known, called on world leaders to defuse tensions as they met at a South-East Asian-hosted summit to focus on security and trade against a backdrop of intensifying big-power rivalries.
US Vice President Kamala Harris, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov joined the summit in Jakarta led by the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean), along with leaders of partner countries such as Japan, South Korea, India and Australia.
An undercurrent of tension has accompanied the talks on issues from trade and technology to China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea, the Myanmar junta’s refusal to cooperate with Asean on a peace plan and suspicious North Korea plans to supply weapons to Russia.
“We all have a responsibility to not create new conflict, new tension and new war. At the same time, we also have a responsibility to reduce tensions,” Jokowi, as chair of the 10-member Asean bloc this year, said at the beginning of the East Asia Summit.
Indonesia said the forum should be a place for cooperation and not for the sharpening of animosities. Indonesia and other South-East Asian countries have this week warned of “destructive” rivalries between major powers, a reference to looming US-China tensions that they say put them in danger.
On Wednesday, China’s Li warned against starting a “new Cold War” and warned countries against taking sides in any conflict. Harris, attending the meetings instead of President Joe Biden, reiterated a US commitment to the region.
“The United States has an enduring commitment to South-East Asia and more broadly to the Indo-Pacific,” she said.
A White House official said earlier, the US shared interests with Asean in “upholding the rules-based international order, including in the South China Sea, in the face of China’s unlawful maritime claims and provocative actions”.
Harris underscored US opposition to make “unilateral changes to the status quo in the South China Sea and East China Sea” in meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippines’ President Ferdinand Marcos, a White House spokesperson said. China and Japan both claim a tiny group of islands in the East China Sea.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, another staunch US ally, said any attempts to change the status quo by force in the South China Sea could not be tolerated.
China’s Li and Japan’s Kishida met briefly on the sidelines of the summit on Wednesday and discussed Japan’s release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea.
An infuriated China has banned all aquatic imports from Japan in response.
Asean leaders are also grappling with conflict in Myanmar, a member of their grouping beset by violence since the military ousted a government led by Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021. Asean has tried unsuccessfully to push for peace in Myanmar, leading to questions about the influence of their politically-diverse group.
Asean leaders expressed “grave concern” over the lack of progress on their peace plan, but Myanmar said it rejected the comment and Asean should stick to its principle of not interfering in each other’s affairs. — Reuters
