Visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton accomplished her mission to raise the South China Sea issue when meeting with her Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa at the latter’s office on Monday evening.
Clinton’s visit came less than a month after Marty met with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Jakarta.
Marty
and Clinton discussed numerous regional and global issues, ranging from
tension in the South China Sea, which looked to be the main agenda item
of the US official, as well as the conflict in Syria, tension on the
Korean peninsula and Iran’s nuclear program.
“Our discussions
today extended beyond bilateral issues. Like Indonesia’s relations with
other key partners in the region, the relations between Indonesia and
the US have proven to be a strong contributor to the region’s peace,
stability and prosperity,” Marty said in his written statement delivered
during a joint press conference.
The conference was delayed by more than an hour due to the two’s prolonged bilateral talks.
Clinton,
who began her press statement by expressing condemnation of the suicide
bombing in Peshawar that injured American diplomats, said she was
grateful to Indonesia’s efforts to restore ASEAN unity after divisions
arose over the South China Sea.
Friction among Southeast Asian
countries came to the surface following the unprecedented failure to
issue a joint communiqué in a recent ASEAN ministerial meeting in Phnom
Penh.
Clinton pushed for Indonesia’s strong role in maintaining
ASEAN unity to deal with the territorial dispute in the South China Sea.
She
also said that the US supported ASEAN’s six-point principle on the
issue established after Marty’s shuttle diplomacy with his Southeast
Asian counterparts.
Clinton also addressed domestic issues such
as intolerant acts, violence against minorities and alleged human rights
abuses in Papua.
Clinton used a written statement in the press
conference. When responding to a question on the Papua issue asked by a
journalist, Clinton also looked to read the written statement.
“We
support Papua’s integrity with Indonesia,” she said while adding that
human rights violations allegedly committed by Indonesian authorities
must be addressed through the fair and transparent rule of law.
Clinton will have a courtesy call meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday morning before leaving for Beijing.
Meanwhile,
according to Reuters, Clinton also called on China and its neighbors in
Southeast Asia to move determinedly to draw up a code of conduct to
help resolve disputes in the South China Sea and added that they should
refrain from threats and coercion, which sent regional tensions
skyrocketing recently.
“The United States does not take a
position on competing territorial claims over land features, but we
believe the nations of the region should work collaboratively together
to resolve disputes without coercion, without intimidation, without
threats and certainly without the use of force,” she said.