President Obama to Attend ASEAN-US Summit in Bali

Jakarta - US President Barack Obama is scheduled to attend the ASEAN-US and East Asian summits in Bali, November 17-19, 2011. President Obama would attend the ASEAN-US Summit on November 18, 2011 and the East Asian Summit (EAS) on November 19, 2011, which would take place in conjunction with h the 19th ASEAN Summit, Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Tene said at a press conference here on Friday. The Third ASEAN-US Summit will discuss ASEAN-US cooperation in the Southeast Asian region and at global level. The United States will also participate for the first time in the Southeast Asian Summit. The US was invited because the regional and global interests could not be separated from the powerful influence of the US, he said. Russia was also invited for the first time to the EAS, he added. The East Asian Summit will be attended by among others the heads of state/government from the 10-member countries of ASEAN, Australia, China, South Korea, Japan, India, Russia and the US. The Summit will also discuss followup action on a draft declaration of the South China Sea Code of Conduct resulting from the 18th ASEAN Summit. "The US and Russia will be involved because the two countries have economic and security interests in the South China Sea," he said. The presence of the US and Russia is expected to help give inputs for finding solutions to the dispute over claims the South China sea involving China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, and the Philippines. "Indonesia as the current Chair of ASEAN will endeavor a comprehensive dialog to realize the declaration of the South China Sea Code of Conduct for the sake of peace, stability and mutual trusts among Southeast Asian nations and China," Tene stated.