Indonesia calls on East Asian countries peace and security

The government of Indonesia has urged all East Asian countries to keep regional peace and security by avoiding any provocative actions, a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson said.

Indonesias Foreign Affairs Ministrys spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir made the comment on Thursday, which was in context of escalating tensions between China and Japan after some Chinese vessels equipped with a long-range radar sailed near the disputed Senkaku Island.

Nasirs comment also pointed to a report released by Reuters on Thursday, which stated that Vietnam has discreetly fortified several of its islands in the disputed South China Sea with new mobile rocket launchers capable of striking Chinas runways and military installations across vital trade routes.

"We still dont know what Vietnam is actually doing, we need to confirm it, but the point is that peace and security are a common interest of all countries in the region," he noted.

"We are reminding all countries to stick to that common interest," added Nasir.

Unfortunately, escalating tensions in the East Asian region occurred after regional countries, including China, North Korea and Japan, met at the East Asia Summit (EAS) organized as a part of ASEAN ministerial meetings in Vientiane, Laos, in July.

"That is why we are calling on all countries to relate to what we have achieved and that keeping peace and stability are not the sole responsibility of a country or two," said Nasir.

Earlier on August 3, North Korea had launched a ballistic missile that landed in or near Japanese-controlled waters for the first time, the latest in a series of launches by the isolated country in defiance of the United Nations Security Council's resolutions.

The main body of the missile landed in Japans economic exclusion zone, a Japanese defense official said, escalating regional tensions that were already high after a series of missile launches this year and the decision by the United States to place a sophisticated anti-missile system in South Korea.

After that, on August 5, Tokyo lodged a protest with China after spotting 230 Chinese vessels swarming in waters near the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, an unusually large number, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

The roughly 230 fishing boats and six China Coast Guard vessels were confirmed in a contiguous zone near the uninhabited islets, which are also claimed by China. (*)

Source: ANTARA