Hot topics debated at Asean meet

JAKARTA, Indonesia—Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Saturday raised the spectre of increasing global competition for food and energy resources in the coming years as the world’s population grows from seven billion to nine billion by 2045.

Speaking at the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Leaders’ Summit here, Yudhoyono warned fellow Asean leaders that rising food and energy prices could drive more people into poverty and urged the regional bloc to take steps to ease the surge in consumer prices.

“We must give serious attention and take concrete measures to address the soaring of food prices and world energy, which in turn will negatively affect the prosperity of our people,” Yudhoyono said in his opening speech.

Yudhoyono welcomed Asean leaders, including the Philippines’ President Aquino, to the opening ceremonies of the 18th Asean Leaders’ Summit at the tightly guarded Jakarta Convention Center. Indonesia is the chair of the Asean this year and the summit host.

Presidents and prime ministers of the 10-member Asean (Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) are to talk about their long-stated goal of building a competitive and highly integrated economic region.

But regional security concerns such as the dispute over the oil-rich Spratly islands claimed by China and several Asean members and terrorist threats following the death of Osama bin Laden were seen as likely to dominate the talks.

Another potential hot topic is Burma’s (Myanmar) bid to become chair of the regional bloc. Burma’s President Thein Sein, the head of the military-backed party that overwhelmingly won general elections late last year, is expected to ask for the right to chair Asean in 2014. Some Asean members say Burma is ready, but others argue it has not yet done enough to improve human rights.

Thai-Cambodia dispute

Already, a bloody border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia is threatening to hijack the talks. Fighting has broken out anew along the border of Thailand and Cambodia, claiming nearly 20 lives in the past two weeks and sending tens of thousands of people fleeing their homes.

As Asean’s current chair, Indonesia has been trying to help mediate the dispute over small parcels of land claimed by both countries, but has so far made little headway.

During a plenary session on Saturday, Mr. Aquino offered the Philippines’ assistance “in any way” to resolve the dispute, and urged both countries to bring the conflict to a peaceful resolution, according to Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario.

The Thai-Cambodian row was not on the agenda but Cambodia brought it up and it took quite a bit of the discussions, said Communications Development Secretary Ricky Carandang.

The discussions on the border dispute were so heated it gave him a “jolt,” said Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras.

It was heated “by Asean standards but if you compare them with a regular session of our Congress, it was tame,” said Carandang.

Economic growth threatened

In his speech, Yudhoyono said Asean countries are already experiencing food and energy price fluctuations.

“Food security will be a great challenge for Asean. We will need clear and evident cooperation amongst Asean, with a clear emphasis on programs on securing food supply for the people,” Yudhoyono said.

Oil prices soared to their highest peaks in more than two years last month, driven largely by political turmoil in the crude-producing Middle East and North Africa region.

The increase has sparked fears that inflation could slow down the recovery from the global recession in 2008 and 2009.

On Thursday, the United Nations said high food and oil prices could keep an additional 42 million people in poverty in the Asia-Pacific region and threaten economic growth.

Major challenge

The International Monetary Fund warned in a report last month that rising food and energy prices could start an inflationary spiral.

Almendras said all of the Asean leaders cited the rising cost of fuel as one of their major challenges during the plenary.

Del Rosario and Almendras said Asean has already come up with some specific initiatives to address the issues of food and fuel supplies.

According to Del Rosario at a disaster management conference in Thailand two weeks ago, the idea was discussed about warehousing rice supply for countries in the region “confronted by disaster.”

For the energy sector, Almendras said there is an Asean Conference on Petroleum that helps ensure fuel delivery for countries in the region if there is a disruption in the supply chain.

“Oil-producing countries in Asia will share the supply with nonproducing countries (in Southeast Asia), at commercial rates of course, but at the very least (supply is ensured),” he said.

Food reserves system

Yudhoyono called for the establishment of an integrated food security framework in Asean.

“More specifically, we must attend to the formulation of a food reserves system in Asean and also one that assists farmers from escaping poverty,” Yudhoyono said.

To enhance energy security, members must work towards developing renewable sources that are abundant in Asean such as hydro-power and geothermal, he said.

“One way to achieve that is the development of research centers and renewable energy in our region,” he added.

The Indonesian leader also called for further cooperation in disaster management, citing the giant earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March which also damaged a nuclear power plant and triggered an atomic crisis.

Joint disaster management

He said Asean must enhance the capacity and coordination at the regional level through an Asean coordinating center for humanitarian assistance on disaster management. He also called for an intensified joint exercises in disaster management.

Aside from Mr. Aquino, other leaders at the summit include Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, Burma’s President Thein Sein, Singapore Senior Minister S. Jayakumar representing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. With a report from AFP