JAKARTA - ASEAN member countries plan to consolidate themselves more intensively in the provision of humanitarian assistance to Japan which was recently hit by a powerful earthquake and tsunami, Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa said. The minister made the statement here on Saturday after attending the Special ASEAN-Japan Ministerial Meeting at the ASEAN secretariat in Jakarta.
"Almost a month after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, every ASEAN member country has sent aid to the impacted areas in Japan. Today’s meeting was about our efforts to create better coordination among ASEAN members to provide further assistance to Japan," he said.
The minister also said at Saturday’s meeting it was agreed that the assistance to Japan which was so far provided on a bilateral basis would henceforth be given by ASEAN as a region.
Marty said, apart from providing humanitarian aid and funds, some ASEAN members also proposed to provide assistance in other forms such as promoting tourism sites in the region among Japanese who want to have a vacation from the tensions after the big quake or sending cultural missions to the impacted areas in Japan.
Meanwhile, Thai Foreign Affairs Minister Kasit Piromya who was also attending the Saturday meeting stated Japan had been very helpful to ASEAN countries during the past years. "It is now our chance to reciprocate and provide assistance to japan," he said.
Earlier, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during his opening speech at the Saturday meeting expressed hope that the solidarity between members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to Japan could become a capital for wider cooperation in various fields.
He said cooperation in disaster handling between ASEAN and Japan had developed for a long tome with Japan being one of the ASEAN partners that has actively given help when one of the ASEAN member countries was hit by a disaster and in view of the fact that Southeast Asia and Japan were prone to natural disasters strong cooperation and partnership would be needed from all parties.
"In connection with that we have already had instruments among others the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response which we should always refer to," he said.
ASEAN, he said, also has Coordinator Center for Humanitarian Assistance, an institution that helps coordinate extension of humanitarian aid in the region.
"This must be made more effective and I believe with the coordination and coherence among us all, members of ASEAN, ASEAN +3, East Asia Forum and ASEAN Regional Forum we could carry out the cooperation well to help a country or a region facing a natural disaster," he said.
The ASEAN-Japan special meeting was attended by Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa, special envoy from Brunei Darussalam Princess Masna, Cambodian`s vice prime minister/foreign minister Hor Namhong, Laos` home minister Phongsavath Boupha, Malaysian foreign minister Sri Anifah, Myanmar`s deputy foreign minister Myo Myint, Philippine foreign minister Albert del Rosario, special envoy from Singapore Chew Tai Soo, Thai foreign minister Kasit Piromya, Vietnam`s deputy foreign minister Dao Viet Trung, the Japanese foreign minister Takeaki Matsumoto and ASEAN secretary general Surin Pitsuwan.
source : kompas.com
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