DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “Roundup: Intra-regional investment, favorable demographics key to ASEAN's growth” plus 9 more

HONGKONG, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- In the midst of global economic slowdown, the ASEAN economy remained robust and resilient growth, driven by intra-regional investment and favorable demographics, said an economist from Merrill Lynch.

During the past year, trade and investment between ASEAN countries drove the regions' constant growth and acts as shield against global financial crisis, said Hak Bin Chua, the head of Emerging Asia Economic Research in Bank of American Merrill Lynch, in an interview with Xinhua earlier this week.

In 2011, total trade volume of ASEAN was 204 billion U.S. dollars and 25.4 percent of which was between member states, according to data from the ASEAN Trade Statistics Database.

In particular, governments-initiated infrastructural projects enhanced the level of connectivity and paved ways for more trade within the region, said Chua. By 2015, the Singapore-Kunming railway would be completed, connecting Singapore, Thailand, Laos with Yunnan province in China. In addition, ASEAN countries would open skies and work together on air services in three years time, which would provide tremendous opportunities for the region.

Trade and investments among member states has shielded the region from obstacles like European financial crisis. Chua said that the impact of deleveraging of European banks was very limited on ASEAN members. "They are no longer treats," he added.

Leverage on complementary resources

The ASEAN countries have reached consensuses on leverage each other's advantages to nurture growth along the years. For example, Myanmar has rich natural resources like natural gas and tin; Indonesia and Laos have younger workforce that in favor of manufactures and Singapore, as leading financial center, provides financial support to the region.

The share of intra-ASEAN foreign direct investment (FDI) in period of 2008-2010 was 16.7 percent of this total amount, compared with 10 percent in year 2004-2006, according to data from Merrill Lynch.

"We see a lot of Thai investment into Myanmar; Malaysian banks invest into Singapore and Malaysian communication players invest in Indonesia. So I would say the ASEAN countries are a lot more willing to invest in their neighbors nowadays," said Chua.

Demographics in favor

The ASEAN countries would benefit more from population dividend as their labor force continues to grow, according to report from Merrill Lynch.

Population in China, Japan and Korea will peak before the year 2030, while most ASEAN countries will continue the growing momentum until 2050. Within the next decades, China's labor force would enter the stage of decline, the report said.

With younger workforce and cheaper labor cost, ASEAN is attracting more investments and productions, luring companies to relocate resources in the region.

Vietnam can speak for the benefits of industrial relocation. After Nike transferred more of its orders to Vietnam, the country saw its manufacturing industry output value increase, as well as an overall industry upgrade that has allowed it to produce more high-end goods.

"The reduction of trade friction and avoidance of trade barriers have inspired foreign more companies to move their factories to southeast Asia," said Chen Jiagui, former associate dean of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Power of the regional trade pack

In addition to the FDI from the ten member states, investments are flowing into the bloc from neighboring countries especially from ASEAN+3, a regional trade pack between ASEAN, China, South Korea and Japan, experts say.

Japanese investment to ASEAN mounted from 7.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2010 to 12.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2011, according to Merrill Lynch's report.

Furthermore, as China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) has become the third largest in the world, the ASEAN-China tie is gaining more significance to power up the bloc's growth.

Bilateral trade between China and ASEAN was expected to surpass the target of 500 billion U.S. dollars by 2015, said Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN during his speech on the ASEAN Day in August.

SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Defense Ministers of the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United States' Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta met informally here on Friday afternoon to discuss ways to strengthen military ties.

The ASEAN Defense Ministers were led by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Tea Banh.

Speaking in a press briefing after the consultative meeting, Panetta said that both sides had exchanged views on regional and international security issues.

He said his three-nation trip to the Asia-Pacific, namely Australia, Thailand and Cambodia, was to reflect the commitment of the United States to the Asia-Pacific rebalance.

He said the U.S. military has been working with friends, partners and allies in the Asia-Pacific region for over 70 years.

"Americans have fought and died in this region and our goal has always been to try to promote peace and prosperity throughout this region," he said. "We are deepening our military engagement with our allies and partners in this region in order to ensure that we are able to promote security and prosperity for many years to come."

The U.S.' increase in military engagement in the region is a part of the U.S. effort to rebalance, according to him.

"This effort includes not just military, but diplomatic, economic and cultural engagement across the region," he said.

Panetta also reaffirmed the importance of ASEAN unity for building regional stability, saying that the U.S. supports ASEAN- led defense cooperation in a number of critical areas to the region including humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, maritime security, non-proliferation, and counterterrorism.

"We are committed to further strengthening the U.S.-ASEAN relationship and the United States will increase the size and number of the exercises that we will participate in the Asia- Pacific for the Southeast Asia partners, and we are devoting new funding to this goal," he said.

He said the U.S. is looking forward to participating in 3 ADMM Plus (ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus) exercises in 2013 including a humanitarian and disaster relief exercise in Brunei, a counterterrorism exercise in Indonesia, co-sponsored by the U.S. and Indonesia, and a maritime security exercise, co-chaired by Malaysia and Australia.

Meanwhile, Tea Banh said that ASEAN was pleased to cooperate with all parties, especially with the powerful countries, in order to ensure solid peace, security and prosperity in the region.

Panetta paid a one-day visit to Cambodia and met with the ASEAN Defense Ministers just days ahead of a visit by the U.S. President Barack Obama to the country next Monday.

BEIJING, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will attend a series of meetings for East Asian leaders held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from Nov. 18-21, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei announced Friday.

The meetings include the 15th summit between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as the 15th summit between the ASEAN, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the seventh East Asia Summit.

In addition to these meetings, Wen will pay official visits to Cambodia and Thailand at the invitations of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, respectively.

HONG KONG, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- The three-day 21st Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and related meetings with the bloc's dialogue partners will open Nov. 18 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia amid a faltering world economy and regional tensions.

Officials said that economic issues, along with political- security integration in the regional grouping, will top the agenda in the ASEAN leaders' meeting.

"Economic issues, particularly on how to narrow the development gap within the bloc and to facilitate economic integration, will be the core issues to be discussed in the summit," Dr. Chheang Vannarith, executive director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, which closely works with ASEAN, told Xinhua in an interview.

In 2007, ASEAN leaders pledged to achieve economic integration in the region by the end of 2015 when the bloc will have a single market and production base that would ensure the free movement of goods, services, investments and skilled labor among the 600 million people in the grouping.

In all previous summits since 2007, the leaders of ASEAN continued to discuss ways and means on how to create a single ASEAN market in 2015.

Experts believe that development gap, poor infrastructure, lack of human resources and capacity, good governance, and low participation from the private sector are the main stumbling blocks in achieving the establishment of a single ASEAN market.

"We need to invest more in both hard and soft infrastructure and ask the private sector, particularly those in small and medium enterprises, to be more active in the regional integration process, " Vannarith said, adding that best practices in entrepreneurship and innovation should be further promoted.

The lingering debt crisis in the euro zone and the weak U.S. recovery could continue to have a negative impact on Asia's emerging economies, which are home to low-priced manufacturing goods and have long been dependent on exports to developed countries.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the euro zone's economy to contract 0.4 percent this year, while China's remarkable growth is forecast to decelerate to 7.8 percent while the U.S. could expand by only about 2.2 percent.

In the upcoming ASEAN summit and a series of meetings with dialogue partners, the leaders of both ASEAN member-countries and key Asia Pacific powers will launch Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a more ambitious trade plan designed to rev up economic linkages and spur growth among ten ASEAN nations and six dialogue partners, namely, Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand.

The leaders are expected to iron out kinks in their vision to transform the regional grouping into the world's biggest integrated market comprising of over 3 billion people with a combined GDP of about 17.23 trillion U.S. dollars.

"The guiding principles and objectives for negotiating a RCEP had been prepared and will be endorsed by the leaders at the 21st ASEAN Summit, "Cambodian Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh announced at an ASEAN Symposium on Oct. 31

The ASEAN leaders are also expected to work out on measures that would enhance regional connectivity and bolster the bloc's political-security and social-cultural integration.

A slew of documents, including the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD), Terms of Reference of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation and ASEAN Agreement on Trafficking in Persons (TBC), are expected to be adopted in the Phnom Penh meeting.  Other regional security issues of common concern, such as ethnic and religious tension in Myanmar, South China Sea, East China Sea, and the peace process in the Philippines, are also expected to be included in the agenda, according to Dr. Vannarith.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

China's position on the issue has been consistent: that it was willing to discuss the issue with claimant countries on the bilateral level but without the interference of other regional or international parties.

Although China has been consistent in saying that the disputed islands in the South China Sea belong to China since ancient times, it was willing to turn the disputed waters into an area of peace, friendship and cooperation.

During the meeting of the 15th ASEAN-China Summit, a joint Statement of the Heads of State/Government of the ASEAN Member States and the People's Republic of China on the 10th Anniversary of the DOC will be endorsed.

China's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei reiterated that China is open to consultations with the ASEAN on the conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

In the forthcoming meeting, Cambodia will play an important role as the ASEAN Chair, particularly in promoting a more straightforward, balanced, and constructive dialogues among claimant countries in the South China Sea and other maritime rifts, according report by Gregory Poling, a research associate with the Chair for Southeast Asia Studies at CSIS.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, newly-elected U.S. President Barack Obama, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, India Prime Minister Manmohan Sigh, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key have all confirmed to attend the 7th East Asia Summit with ASEAN leaders.

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Key world leaders including re- elected U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao along with estimated 1,700 foreign media persons are arriving for the ASEAN summits with the expectation of strengthening ties, officials said here on Friday.

The 21st Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and related Summits will be held from Nov. 18-20 at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.

The events will bring together all ASEAN leaders and ASEAN's dialogue country leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will be a notable absentee from the conference.

The host of world leaders is expected to discuss economic and political issues during the three days.

There will also be several agreements to be signed between the host country and China during Prime Minister Wen's visit, Cambodian government spokesman and Information Minister Khieu Kanharith told media.

ASEAN integration, economic and financial issues, regional security, among others, will be on top agenda in the forthcoming summit.

One of the main highlights of the meeting will undoubtedly be the adoption of a human rights declaration aimed at fighting torture and illegal arrests in a region notorious for violations, despite criticism that the pact falls short of international standards.

ASEAN leaders are scheduled to formally adopt the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration on Sunday, according to Cambodian Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong. "This is the first time ASEAN has had this declaration and I think it is a good move," he told media here adding, "in the future in case it is necessary, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights can hold more meetings with civil society to improve the current declaration."

Signing the ASEAN Agreement on Movement of Natural Persons and the launch of negotiating for a comprehensive regional economic partnership will also take place.

The launching of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation together with ASEAN Regional Demining Centre will address common concerns among the members.

Global financial issues and pushing the agenda on ASEAN's connectivity goal to be a European Union-like bloc by 2015 will also top the agenda.

The large number of international media expected to cover the meeting is an indication of world attention. The Cambodian government has worked hard to provide the necessary infrastructure with banks of computers and tents prepared for the media.

SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- The United States' Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta arrived here on Friday morning for a one-day official visit in order to strengthen and expand military ties with Cambodia.

Panetta held a bilateral talk with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Tea Banh soon after his arrival.

The discussion will be focused on cooperation in defense sector between Cambodia's Defense Ministry and the U.S. Department of Defense, according to a press release from Cambodian Ministry of Defense.

The press release said that the two defense chiefs will talk on cooperation in military human resources development, search for the remains of U.S. soldiers who missed in war time, and other sectors.

Panetta will also meet with defense chiefs from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Friday afternoon in Siem Reap province to promote the U.S.-Asia security cooperation.

Cambodia is Panetta's last leg of his three-nation trip to the Asia-Pacific, which began in Australia, and then, Thailand.

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Newly re-elected U.S. President Barack Obama will arrive here on Monday for a two-day visit to meet with the leaders of the ASEAN and the East Asia Summit, according to a press statement from the U.S. Embassy to Cambodia on Friday.

In Cambodia, he will attend the 4th ASEAN-U.S. Leaders' Meeting, the 7th East Asia Summit and related meetings, the statement said, adding that he will be joined by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

It will be the first sitting U.S. President visiting Cambodia. Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said on Thursday that Obama will also hold a bilateral talk with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen ahead of the 4th ASEAN-U.S. Leaders' Meeting.

The ten-nation ASEAN leaders and ASEAN's dialogue country leaders from the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, India, Russia, Australia, and New Zealand will gather at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, from Nov. 18-20 in order to attend the 21st ASEAN Summit and related Summits.

Founded in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's incoming visit to Southeast Asia is aimed at pushing forward the Pivot to Asia policy, by increasing political, economic and security engagement with the strategically vital region, White House officials said Thursday.

Briefing reporters on Obama's visit to Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia from Nov. 17 to Nov. 20, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said a critical part of Obama's second term agenda is "continuing to fill in our pivot to Asia," which will be ultimately his foreign policy legacy.

"We see this as an opportunity to dramatically increase U.S. exports, to increase U.S. leadership in the fastest growing part of the world," Rhodes said.

He noted Obama has "made it a critical part of his foreign policy to refocus on the Asia Pacific as one of the most important regions to the future of the United States, both economically and in terms of our political and security objectives in the world."

"We devoted an extraordinary amount of time in the first term of the administration to refocusing on Asia and increasing our presence in Asia, both economically, politically, and through our security relationships," he said.

Obama will leave on Saturday for Thailand for the Asia trip, the first foreign tour since his reelection victory last week. In Thailand, Obama will hold talks with Thai King Bhumibol Abdulyadej and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

On Nov. 19, Obama will pay a visit to Myanmar, the first by a U.S. president. He is scheduled to deliver a speech at the University of Rangoon about bilateral relations.

At the last leg of his tour, Obama will visit Cambodia, where he will hold talks with Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Obama will also attend a summit meeting with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the East Asia Summit.

He is also expected to hold a series of bilateral meetings with Asian leaders on the sidelines of the summits, including Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

National Security Council's senior director for Asia Danny Russel said the U.S. and ASEAN will try to expand economic and trade engagement, and push forward practical programs in terms of education and people-to-people ties.

At the East Asia Summit, Obama is expected to focus on issues of non-proliferation, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, and food and energy security.

Since last fall, the Obama administration has been implementing the so-called Pivot to Asia policy by expanding and intensifying its political, diplomatic and military involvement in the Asia-Pacific region.

The U.S. strategic shift has raised more questions than answers, and many of the U.S. actions such as military boosting have been counterproductive to regional peace and stability.

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- The senior officials' preparatory meetings leading to the 21th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit kicked off in the Peace Palace here on Friday.

Following are basic facts about the hosting city:

Phnom Penh, the capital and largest city of Cambodia, is located in the south-central region of Cambodia and at the confluence of three rivers -- the Mekong, the Bassac and Tonle Sap.

Founded in 1434, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonial era. The city is noted for its gorgeous and historical architecture and attractions.

Today, Phnom Penh remains as Cambodia's political and economic hub. It is divided into three sections -- the north, an attractive residential area; the south or the French part of the city featuring government offices, banks and colonial houses; and the center or the heart with narrow lanes, markets, food stalls and boutiques.

The metropolitan area of Phnom Penh is home to more than 2 million of Cambodian population of over 14 million, and is mostly inhabited by Khmers who represent 90 percent of the population.

There are large minorities of Chinese, Vietnamese and other small ethnic groups who are Thai, Budong, Mnong Preh, Kuy, Chong and Chams.

Known as the "Pearl of Asia", Phnom Penh, along with Siem Reap in northwestern Cambodia and Sihanoukville, a beach resort 185 kilometers southwest of the capital, are significant global and domestic tourist destinations in the country.

In recent years,double-digit economic growth rates have triggered an economic boom in Phnom Penh, with new hotels, restaurants, bars, high-rises and residential buildings springing up constantly.

In sum, Phnom Penh is a mirror of Asia's past and present, a city of extremes of poverty and excess, of charm and chaos, but one that never fails to captivate.

SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Defense ministers from the ten-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met here on Friday to exchange views and to raise practical actions and measures for cooperation in order to maintain peace and security in the region.

Speaking at the opening of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) Retreat, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Tea Banh said that the bloc needed to strengthen cooperation and partnership to react to current challenges such as maritime security, environment issues, water security, food security and energy issues.

"No single nation can solve all the security issues by itself," he said. "We need cooperation and partnership to overcome common security challenges to create the potentials for the establishment of a strong ASEAN Political-Security Community by 2015."

He said that during the meeting, Cambodia will hand over the role as the chair of ADMM to Brunei's Defense Ministry for 2013.

He said that in 2013, Brunei will also host the first-ever multilateral military exercise under the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) on the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief and Military Medicine.

"Such joint exercise will significantly contribute to the practical security cooperation on non-traditional security challenges," he said.

Founded in 1967, ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.