INDONESIA: JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER JUNICHIRO KOIZUMI ARRIVES IN JAKARTA ON LATEST LEG OF HIS TOUR OF ASEAN COUNTRIES

Record ID: 415934

  • Title: INDONESIA: JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER JUNICHIRO KOIZUMI ARRIVES IN JAKARTA ON LATEST LEG OF HIS TOUR OF ASEAN COUNTRIES
  • Date: 12th January 2002
  • Summary: (W4) JAKARTA, INDONESIA (JANUARY 12, 2002) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. SV: PRESIDENT MEGAWATI AND HER HUSBAND TAUFIK KIEMAS GOING TO WELCOME JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER JUNICHIRO KOIZUMI 0.08 2. SCU: CAMERA OPERATORS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS 0.12 3. SV: KOIZUMI COMING UP STAIRS 0.16 4. SV: MEGAWATI SHAKING HANDS WITH KOIZUMI 0.27 5. MV:
  • Embargoed: 27th January 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: JAKARTA, INDONESIA
  • Country: Indonesia
  • Reuters ID: LVAGT0RFPGYX7CE9W51L8AF47VK
  • Story Text: Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has arrived
    in Indonesia on the latest leg of a trip through Southeast
    Asia, in talks with Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri
    he has underlined the importance of stability in Indonesia and
    won support for his regional free-trade vision from the
    world's fourth most populous country.


    Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Saturday
    (January 10) carried his regional free-trade vision to the
    world's fourth most populous country.

    Speaking after holding talks with President Megawati
    Sukarnoputri during the latest leg of a trip through Southeast
    Asia, Koizumi said the region needed a stable Indonesia. "The
    stability of Indonesia is not only important for Indonesia,
    but also for the entire Asia Pacific region and we share this
    view," he told reporters.

    Japan is Indonesia's biggest donor country and a vital
    investor. It has staunchly backed the Southeast Asian giant,
    which has struggled to regain its footing after plunging into
    chaos during the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s.

    More recently, Indonesia has come under the spotlight
    because of fears the al Qaeda network of Saudi-born militant
    Osama bin Laden would exploit the country's poverty and weak
    law enforcement to link up with local radical Muslim groups.

    Officials have not found any evidence of such ties and the
    vast majority of Indonesia's Muslims are moderate.

    Megawati took power six months and her cautious leadership
    has ushered in some welcome political stability. However, the
    mainly Muslim country remains faced with an array of woes such
    as separatism, communal violence and a struggling economy.

    Koizumi said he discussed topics with Megawati including
    the separatist province of Aceh and Indonesia's efforts to
    implement judicial and police reforms. Officials earlier said
    they expected aid and Jakarta's big debt burden to also be
    discussed.

    The prime minister also raised his Asian free-trade
    vision.

    So far during his regional trip, Koizumi has won support
    from Thailand and the Philippines for a proposal to create an
    economic cooperative "community" among the Association of
    South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan, China and South
    Korea.

    But Malaysia has stopped short of giving its backing to
    the proposal, which may ultimately include Australia and New
    Zealand.

    Koizumi's vision centres on a comprehensive economic
    cooperation framework among Japan and ASEAN, centering on
    free-trade agreements (FTAs), seen as Tokyo's bid not to lag
    behind China's burgeoning influence in the region.

    Koizumi has already clinched an FTA with Singapore, to be
    signed on Sunday and the first such bilateral pact for Tokyo.

    The island state will be the last leg of Koizumi's
    five-nation trip, where he will also outline Japan's new
    Southeast Asia policy.

    On the joint statement Megawati says, "I welcome the ideas
    of the Japanese Prime Minister for creating a better relation
    among
    ASEAN countries plus 3. Korea, China and Japan."
    ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
    Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
    Vietnam.

    China's regional influence is expected to strengthen now
    that it has joined the World Trade Organisation and its
    economy
    continues to boom while others in the region suffer.

    China agreed with ASEAN to establish a free-trade area
    within 10 years at an ASEAN+3 (Japan, South Korea and China)
    summit last November, rattling Japan, which saw China stealing
    the initiative in a region it long regarded as its backyard.

    Unlike China, Japan has not set a timeframe for concluding
    the free-trade zone with ASEAN.


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