DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “ASEAN foreign ministers meeting concludes in Bali, Indonesia” plus 9 more

BALI, Indonesia, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Foreign Ministers of ASEAN Members States concluded their closed-door meeting at Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center Tuesday after discussing the establishment of an institute for Peace and Reconciliation (AIPR), Brazil's accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, and the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The meeting was conducted by ASEAN foreign ministers before the 19th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and related Summits to be held here on Nov. 17-19.

On the establishment of the AIPR, the ministers agreed to submit recommendations on the establishment of the Institute to the leaders at the 19th ASEAN Summit for their consideration and endorsement.

The Institute itself is expected to be officially launched in 2012.

The foreign ministers also discussed the topics of ASEAN Community Development and the Implementation of the ASEAN Charter, including the proposal for an ASEAN Common Visa for Non-ASEAN Nationals.

Regarding the ASEAN Common Visa, they agreed to conduct a study and provide a recommendation on a roadmap for the development of an ASEAN Common Visa.

The ASEAN foreign ministers also had an exchange of views on various regional and international issues, including Korean Peninsula and the Middle East.

After the meeting, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said, "ASEAN now is different from the past.  ... Now we act concretely in facing and solving directly the problem, in the case of Thai-Cambodia border dispute and dramatic changes in Myanmar. For example, we talked directly to find appropriate solution."

Other issues that were also discussed during the meeting were Myanmar's proposal for the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2014, the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human rights (AICHR), and a proposal for regional cooperation on flood disaster relief and recovery.

The ministers also touched on Timor Leste's official application for ASEAN's membership and agreed to refer it to the meeting of the ACC for further procedural consideration.

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

BALI, Indonesia, Nov.15 (Xinhua) -- The ASEAN Competition Conference convened here from Tuesday to Wednesday has raised public awareness and support for competition policy in ASEAN by providing a platform for discussion and networking among competition-related authorities and stakeholders in intra- and extra-ASEAN, a press statement from the ASEAN Secretariat said here on Tuesday.

Vice Minister of Trade of Indonesia, Bayu Krisnamurthi said in his open remarks that competition policy and trade policy were two sets of interlink policies.

He said that trade policy without proper competition policy, however, could lead to free market competition and may have potential damage to the market competition and domestic trade in return.

As such, competition policy would play important role in minimising possible negative effects which might result from free trade arrangements.

He further highlighted that competition policy would be an important part to support trade liberalisation and increase competitiveness of a nation.

Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Economic Community Sundram Pushpanathan highlighted the importance of competition policy in encouraging healthy business rivalries, fostering a level playing field, reducing abusive or collusive practices, and improving the efficiency of resource mobilisation and allocation within and across economies.

He added that the lessons and insights gained during the conference would be useful in assisting the ASEAN Experts Group on Competition (AEGC) and ASEAN Member States to chart the way forward for regional and national activities in the field of competition.

The Conference was attended by about 200 participants, including government officials, members of parliament, business persons, politicians, academics and the media.

About 30 prominent speakers from within and outside ASEAN region delivered their presentations and exchanged views with participants at the Conference.

Between 2008 and 2009, the All-China Women' s Federation (ACWF) trained over 40 senior women officials from Laos and Myanmar through the China-ASEAN Women Training Center in the Guangxi Women' s Federation. In addition, ACWF has opened women training centers in Laos and Thailand to teach practical skills to local women.

* China-ASEAN Association

Since its establishment in 2004, China-ASEAN Association has made vigorous efforts to promote people-to-people exchanges between China and ASEAN countries. It is the host of the annual Conference on China-ASEAN People-to-People Friendship Organizations held in China and ASEAN countries, and initiated the  "China-ASEAN Journey of Friendship"  campaign in 2006.

China-ASEAN Association sponsored the  "Friendship Bringing-Light Tour"  program in 2008, in which a team of eye specialists from Tongren Hospital of China went to ASEAN countries to perform free eyesight recovery surgeries for local cataract patients. In 2009, China-ASEAN Association and the Vietnamese Federation of Friendship Organizations co-sponsored the  "2009 Grand Gala of Residents Living in China-Vietnam Border Areas"  in Fangchenggang, China and Mong Cai, Vietnam.

X Outlook

With the present in-depth development of the economic globalization and regional integration, the future and destiny of China and ASEAN countries are closely relevant more than ever. Strengthening bilateral good-neighborly friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation serves the common interests of both sides, meets the demands of the era for peace, development and cooperation, and is the common strategic choice of the both sides.

No matter how the international situation changes, China will unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development, unswervingly pursue the foreign policy of "building friendship and partnership with neighboring countries", and be ASEAN's good neighbor, good friend and good partner for ever. China will firmly support ASEAN's less developed countries in accelerating the realization of their development goals, firmly support ASEAN's community building, and firmly support ASEAN's leading role in East Asian cooperation.

China is willing to continue to maintain close high-level exchanges to enhance all-round cooperation with ASEAN. China is ready to make joint efforts with ASEAN to implement all the relevant agreements of Free Trade Area and continuously enhance the establishment of the FTA, promote the SMEs' understanding and use of FTA, strive to achieve the goal of 500 billion U.S. dollars in bilateral trade volume in 2015, and build the FTA into a model among developing countries.

China will work with ASEAN to fully implement the second five-year Plan of Action, to expand cooperation in various fields such as connectivity, agriculture, science and technology, public health, environmental protection, energy, and finance. China will continue to support the implementation of the "ASEAN  Master Plan on Connectivity", "China - ASEAN Strategic Plan on Transportation Cooperation" and other important documents. On the basis of land and air connectivity, China will actively explore maritime connectivity with ASEAN, with a view making it a new bright spot in China-ASEAN cooperation.

China is willing to further strengthen social and cultural exchanges with ASEAN, jointly promote tourism, education, culture, media, youth exchanges, make use of the platforms such as China-ASEAN Center, Education Exchange Week, and Youth Camps to enhance people-to-people understanding and friendship, and achieve the goal of 150 million people from each other in 2015, so that people of China and ASEAN will be firm supporters, active builders and real beneficiaries of China-ASEAN relations.

China and ASEAN have broad common interests. With the joint efforts of both sides, the bilateral political relations will be more solid, economic and trade ties will be closer, areas of cooperation will be more diversified, and good-neighborly friendship will be more popular. The future of China - ASEAN relationship will be brighter.

COLOMBO, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- The United States should strengthen its administration to promote diplomatic relations and maritime security in the Indian Ocean, a senior U.S. defense official said here on Tuesday.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asian Affairs Robert M. Scher told an international maritime conference held in the southern town of Galle that his country should do more to look at mutual interests and build capacity.

He pointed out that the Indian Ocean is rapidly surpassing both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as the world's busiest and most critical trade corridor.

By some measures over 50 percent of the world's container traffic and 70 percent of global energy trade transits through the Indian Ocean.

"However we need multilateral approaches to address maritime security concerns including piracy," Scher said, adding that proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and maritime terrorism were two other issues that need to be addressed collectively.

Assistance in natural disasters and support of human rights in countries that ring the Indian Ocean were two other points touched upon by Scher.

"We find that many other security concerns relevant to the United States come to play in this one region. It is a transit hub for proliferators and an important supply route for terrorist networks in the region," Scher said.

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- The government of Cambodia has planned 199 million U.S. dollars for rehabilitating the infrastructures, mainly schools, hospitals and roads that had sustained damages during the recent floods, Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon said Tuesday afternoon.

Of the planned budget, 54 million U.S. dollars came from the freeze of 2011's new development projects, and the other 90 million U.S. dollars was from the state's budget, he said at the opening of a meeting at the Council for the Development of  Cambodia.

Also, negotiations are underway with the Asian Development Bank to secure another 55 million U.S. dollars for post-flood rehabilitation of infrastructures which is expected to start implementation toward the end of 2012.

"The recent floods have clearly been a set-back for many people as well as for the country more generally. We are confident that Cambodia is today a more resilient and capable country and we feel sure that our recovery will be swift as the floodwaters  recede," said Keat Chhon, also minister of economy and finance. "Our urgent priority is the rehabilitation of the infrastructures after the floods."

Cambodia has suffered the worst flooding of the last decade since August and 18 cities and provinces have been submerged.

At least 250 people were killed and some 1.5 million people have been affected, according to the reports of the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM).

The floods had destroyed 230,000 of rice paddies, or 9 percent of the total rice paddy production this year.

Nearly 3,000 kilometers of gravel roads and some 180 kilometers of national roads have been damaged. Also, more than 1,000 schools and hundreds of health centers and pagodas were inundated.

The NCDM estimated that the floods cost the country 521 million U. S. dollars. 

KABUL, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- A policeman was killed and 17 civilians were injured Tuesday morning when an explosion took place in Faryab province, some 425 km northwest of Afghan capital city of Kabul, the Interior Ministry said.

"A policeman with Afghan National Police (ANP) was martyred and 17 civilians were injured when a mine planted on a donkey was detonated by a remote control device at about 11:00 a.m. (local time) Tuesday in Ganj bazaar area of Ghormach district," the ministry said in a statement.

The ANP has shifted all injured people to a district hospital. It said an investigation has been initiated.

This is the second blast in the insurgency-hit country since Tuesday morning.

Five civilians, including a woman, were wounded earlier Tuesday morning when a magnetic mine attached to their vehicle went off in Qara Bagh district, some 40 km north of capital Kabul, the Kabul police said in a separate statement.

No group has claimed responsibility for the incidents so far.

Tuesday's attacks happened amid the government's preparations to open the traditional Loya Jirga, or grand assembly of tribal elders, lawmakers and government functionaries on Wednesday to discuss the proposed U.S.-Afghan strategic partnership amid Taliban threats.

Taliban militants fighting Afghan and NATO-led troops have vowed to derail the Loya Jirga, which is expected to draw over 2, 000 participants.

CAPE TOWN, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Altogether 20 people including two children died following an accident involving two minibuses and a truck in the Western Cape's Karoo in South Africa early Tuesday, local police said.

According to South African Press Association (SAPA), a minibus taxi's trailer hit a truck on the N1 between Leeu-Gamka and Prince Albert at around 1:00.

Captain Malcolm Poje of the Western Cape police said, the minibus overturned after it was rammed from behind by another minibus.

It appeared all the people who died were the occupants of the minibus taxis. They included two children, SAPA reported.

All were declared dead on the scene. The injured were taken to a local hospital.

"The main cause of the accident is not clear at this stage as police are still working on the scene," Poje said.

KABUL, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Five civilians sustained injuries as an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) struck a car in Qara Bagh district some 40 km north of capital city Kabul on Tuesday, Interior Ministry said in a press release issued here.

"Today at 11:20 a.m. local time, IEDs which was placed in a civilian vehicle exploded in Qara Bagh bazaar, district of Kabul province. As a result of the blast, five members of a family were wounded, all the victims are civilians," the press release added.

The wounded were taken to hospital by Afghan National Police, it said.

Tuesday's attack happened amid government's preparations to open the traditional Loya Jirga, or grand assembly of tribal elders, lawmakers and government functionaries on Wednesday to discuss the proposed U.S.-Afghan strategic partnership amid Taliban threats.

Taliban militants fighting Afghan and NATO-led troops have vowed to derail the Loya Jirga.

HANOI, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese Minister of Defense, General Phung Quang Thanh, met here on Tuesday with First Deputy Chairman of the State Military Industrial Committee of the Republic of Belarus, and Deputy Chairman of the Belarus-Vietnam Inter-Governmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation ( ICMTC), Golovchenko Roman Alexandrovich.

Thanh welcomed Belarus guests, saying their visit would be a good opportunity for both the Vietnam and Belarus sub-committees to exchange news and review results of their cooperation.

Alexandrovich informed the host of the outcome from the 12th session of the Vietnam-Belarus Inter-Governmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation, expecting that the signed agreements would soon be implemented.

Prior to the meeting, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Defense, Lieutenant General Truong Quang Khanh, who is Chairman of the Vietnam sub-committee in the Vietnam-Belarus ICMTC, and Alexandrovich signed documents of the 12th session.

WELLINGTON, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government announced Tuesday it had finally found a buyer for its eight remaining Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Skyhawk fighters, a decade after they were mothballed.

Defense Minister Wayne Mapp said in a statement that U.S. company JDI Holdings would buy the fighter aircraft, including engines and spare parts, for 7.9 million NZ dollars (6.11 million U.S. dollars), subject to approval from the United States State Department.

JDI Holdings, which intended to fly the Skyhawks, was expected to take delivery of the aircraft within six months.

The other nine Skyhawks of the original RNZAF fleet of 17 had been permanently loaned to museums around New Zealand, and one museum in Australia.

Some Aermacchis would stay at the RNZAF's Ground Training Wing in Woodbourne and could be used as non-flying training aids replacing the Strikemasters used for that purpose.

JDI Holdings, which had paid a deposit of 1 million NZ dollars, was planning to use the Skyhawks for aerial displays and for U.S. Defense Department contracts, Wellington's Dominion Post newspaper reported.

The price for the Skyhawks was well short of the 155 million NZ dollars offered for all the jets by a U.S. pilot training company, which was never able to conclude the deal, said the report.

It is also less than 9.4 million NZ dollars spent by the RNZAF keeping the aircraft in storage since they were grounded in 2001 when the government decided to disband its air combat wing, rather than buy new fighter jets, said the report.