Nusa Dua - ASEAN need to maintain stability and security in the region, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in his opening speech at the 19th ASEAN Summit in Nusa Dua here on Thursday said. "ASEAN need to act proactively in solving residual issues that have hampered the development of the region," said the president. Yudhoyono said during Indonesia's chairmanship in ASEAN this year, the organization had succeeded in facilitating dialogues between Thailand and Cambodia, building trust among parties related to border disputes in the South China Sea by drafting guidelines on the implementation of the Declaration of Code of Conduct (DoC) in the disputed area and facilitating dialogue between the South Korea and North Korea. He emphasized the need for ASEAN to be in the forefront and play a greater role in the world community. "We must not be a passive audience that's volatile towards global problems," he said. Earlier, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said ASEAN will not allow itself to become an arena where outside powers compete with each other in negative ways. The minister was commenting on the fact that the disputes in the South China Sea involving some ASEAN member states and China had led the United States to state repeatedly it had an abiding interest in maintaining stability in the sea. "We will not let any country use ASEAN as an arena for negative competition with another country. We want to make sure that the concerns of countries outside ASEAN for us will be accommodated in line with our interests," he said. Asked if ASEAN's firmness in the South China Sea issue would cause tension with its partners in the East Asia Summit (China, Japan, the US and Russia), Marty said the possibility was not something he was worried about. "Members of the 6th EAS meeting in Bali on November 19 will announce the adoption of the Bali Principles which are expected not only to regulate the behavior of related parties in the organization but also ensure the stability in the region," said the minister. *


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