Hua Hin (Thailand) Archive

Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 24 – Chinese Prime Minster Wen Jiabao made a six-point proposal for strengthening cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) during his address at the bloc’s summit here Saturday.

Wen said the financial situation in China and ASEAN countries remained stable despite the global economic crisis, and trade between the two sides have entered ‘a stage of restorative growth’, Xinhua reported.

He proposed six steps to enhance cooperation between the two sides: create China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, accelerate infrastructure development, deepen agricultural cooperation, promote sustainable development, strengthen cultural exchanges and advance regional cooperation at various levels.

He also called for protection of intellectual property rights and removal of technical trade barriers.

Wen said Beijing plans to hold a China-ASEAN Free Trade Area forum next year.

He said the two sides should actively promote projects that would help raise grain production in the ASEAN region.

Both sides should make efforts to adopt the China-ASEAN Environmental Cooperation Strategy at the earliest possible date, so as to expand cooperation in the field of renewable energy, among others, he added.

Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 24 – Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh Saturday agreed here to make efforts to gradually narrow differences on the border issues between the two countries.

The two leaders discussed issues of common concern during their meeting on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit here Saturday, Xinhua reported.

‘We have reached important consensus on promoting bilateral ties. I believe our two countries could maintain a good relationship in the future that conforms with the interests of the two countries and I have confidence about that,’ Wen said at the meeting.

Singh, in his turn, recalled his recent meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao in

Russia and the US, noting that China is a great nation.

‘We share with the Chinese people their pride of success,’ he said.

Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 24 – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said Saturday that it stood for the early establishment of an ASEAN-India business council to strengthen business networks and opportunities.

A statement issued at the end of the 15th ASEAN Summit here said the regional grouping welcomed the signing of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement in August this year.

‘The agreement is expected to create a free trade area comprising about 1.7 billion people with a combined GDP of approximately $2.75 trillion as of 2008,’ it said.

ASEAN said it had instructed its officials ‘to exert maximum effort towards concluding negotiations in services and investment to complete the mandate in the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between Asean and India (signed in 2003)’.

The seventh ASEAN-India Summit was held in this Thai resort Saturday.

Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 24 – Battered by the global economic crisis, the US has decided to convene a summit meeting with the influential Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next month.

This ‘would mark a historic point in ASEAN-US Dialogue Relations’, the ASEAN said at the end of its 15th summit here Saturday.

‘The (November) Summit is a reflection of the strong commitment of the US administration to deepen and expand its engagements with ASEAN,’ an ASEAN statement said.

The ASEAN, which brings together some of the best performing economies in Asia, already has China and India among others as its dialogue partners.

Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 24 – Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday suggested a commemorative ship expedition in 2011-12 to mark the sea routes developed during the 10th-12th centuries between India and Southeast Asia.

Addressing the seventh India-ASEAN Summit here, Manmohan Singh said: ‘The sea route could cover modern and ancient ports in ASEAN countries and other East Asian countries.’

Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 24 – Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday suggested the establishment of an India-ASEAN round table to provide policy inputs to the governments on future areas of cooperation.

Addressing the seventh India-ASEAN Summit here, he said the round table should comprise think tanks, policy makers, scholars, journalists and business representatives to bridge the knowledge gap.

He also sought intensified negotiations on an open skies policy and further simplification of the visa regime to encourage business and tourist travel between India and ASEAN countries. He also proposed greater exchanges of youths and MPs.

Manmohan Singh said India was ready to share satellite data with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to manage natural disasters and to launch small satellites, scientific instruments and payloads for experiments in remote sensing.

‘We are convinced that India’s future and our economic interests are best served by greater negotiation with our Asian partners,’ he said, adding he was confident that India and ASEAN could touch the bilateral trade target of $50 billion by 2010.

Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 24 – The 15th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit here issued a statement Saturday urging North Korea to fully comply with UN resolutions.

‘We urged the DPRK (North Korea) to comply fully with its obligations in accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions,’ Xinhua reported quoting the statement.

The UN Security Council resolution 1874, adopted on June 12, allowed wider sanctions against North Korea for its May 25 nuclear test. North Korea rejected the resolution and announced it has quit the six-party talks aimed at denuclearising the Korean Peninsula.

‘We also urged all concerned parties to return to the six party talks as soon as possible and fully implement their commitments made in previous rounds of dialogue that remains the main mechanism for achieving peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula,’ the statement added.

Besides North Korea, the US, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia participate in the talks.

Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 24 – Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Saturday issued a joint statement on climate change and adopted a declaration on strengthening education cooperation at the 15th ASEAN Summit.

In the statement, ASEAN leaders said they shared common concern on the impact of climate change to the economy, environment and well-being of people in the region, Xinhua reported.

The leaders said they underscored the need for ASEAN to work closely together and with other partners for a successful Copenhagen Conference of States Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

ASEAN leaders, in the statement, reaffirmed their position that ‘Parties to the UNFCCC should protect the climate system on the basis of equity and in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and respective national circumstances and capabilities’.

On strengthening education, ASEAN leaders said they underscored the importance of human resource development in promoting understanding among ASEAN peoples and ensuring the competitiveness of ASEAN Community in the global market.

‘We adopted the Cha-am Hua Hin Declaration on Strengthening Cooperation on Education to achieve an ASEAN caring and sharing society which would promote regional standard of competencies, promote greater mobility of students within educational institutions in the region, as well as promote ASEAN awareness in all three pillars of the ASEAN community’, the statement of the 15th ASEAN Summit said.

For this purpose, ASEAN leaders have entrusted relevant sectoral ministers to develop a five-year work plan on education.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.

Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 24 – Japanese Prime Minister Yudio Hatoyama Saturday said his country desired better economic and defence ties with India.

He made the observation at his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the ASEAN and East Asia summits in this Thai resort.

According to Indian officials, Manmohan Singh underscored the importance of early finalisation of major economic initiatives the two countries have jointly begun.

He referred in particular to the Dedicated Freight Corridor Project, the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

Hatoyama said he attached importance to the realisation of all these projects ‘as symbols of cooperation between Japan and India’.

The two prime ministers agreed to work together ‘in a positive and constructive way’ on the issue of climate change, the officials said.

Besides attending the seventh India-ASEAN summit, Manmohan Singh will meet leaders of seven countries in the region. He will also take part in the fourth East Asia Summit Sunday before flying home.

Hua Hin (Thailand), Oct 24 – India and China Saturday pledged not to let differences derail bilateral ties as prime ministers Manmohan Singh and Wen Jiabao held a much-awaited meeting in this Thai resort at a time when relations betwen the two countries have been strained.

Both leaders shook hands warmly at the start of a 45-minute meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN and East Asia summits as they discussed the many ways to build a relationship still marred by a lingering border dispute.

But, officials said, they avoided the two issues that have cast a shadow on their relations in recent times: Arunachal Pradesh, most of which China claims, and the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama’s proposed November visit to the state which Beijing bitterly opposes.

Minus Arunachal and the Dalai Lama, who has lived in India in self-exile since fleeing his homeland in 1959, the two leaders agreed that there was plenty to bind the two most populous countries and two booming economies.

Wen and Manmohan Singh met at the seaside Hotel Dusit Thani, where the two summits are being held. Before the formal delegation-level talks began, the Indian leader told Wen: ‘I am excited to see you.’ On his part, Wen, who last met Manmohan Singh in New York in September 2008, congratulated him on his re-election in general elections this year.

Manmohan Singh underscored the importance for both sides to build ‘better understanding and trust at the political level so that our relations should remain robust and strong’, according to N. Ravi, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs.

He stressed that neither side should let ‘our differences act as impediment to the growth of functional cooperation between the two countries’.

In his remarks, Wen pointed out that India and China, whose relationship continues to be bogged down by their border row that triggered a war in 1962, should live in harmony and friendship and also enjoy prosperity.

He concurred with Manmohan Singh’s view that ‘issues that may arise in the course of our bilateral relations should be properly handled through discussions and they should not become impediment in the development of our friendly relations’.

Xinhua quoted Wen as saying: ‘We have reached important consensus on promoting bilateral ties, and I believe that our two countries could maintain a good relationship in the future, which conforms with the interests of the two countries.’

According to Ravi, Manmohan Singh reviewed all aspects of bilateral relations and reiterated India’s readiness to cooperate with China on issues like climate change, global trade and the international financial crisis.

Manmohan Singh said ‘he would like to see India-China relations move forward in every direction’.

Indian President Pratibha Patil, he added, was looking forward to visiting China next year. He agreed with Wen’s observation that Sino-Indian relations were in the interest of the region and the world.

Wen said China was ready to maintain high-level exchanges and said there were sufficient areas for Beijing and New Delhi to enhance bilateral cooperation.

Wen agreed with Manmohan Singh on the importance of enhancing bilateral trade and economic relations.

India-China ties have been clouded by acrimony for over a month, with both Beijing and the official Chinese media taking an unusually aggressive stance over Arunachal.

New Delhi has criticised Beijing’s decision to undertake projects in Pakistani Kashmir, saying this would impact negatively on India-China relations. The Chinese military has also been accused of foraying into Indian border areas. Beijing denies this.

After meeting Wen, Manmohan Singh went on to hold bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and later plunged into the seventh summit between India and the 10-member Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

On Sunday, Manmohan Singh, who arrived here Friday night, will take part in the fourth East Asia Summit before flying back home.