Sydney Declaration to Strengthen Regional Partnership

The ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Sydney, ended with the launch of the Sydney Declaration, which expressed the commitment of ASEAN and Australian leaders to strengthening regional partnership.

KOMPAS/HAMZIRWAN

President Joko Widodo (second left) poses in a group photograph with the leaders of 10 ASEAN countries and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (center) on Saturday (17/3) during the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Sydney, Australia. Australia held an ASEAN Special Summit for the first time, marking a new phase in Asia-Pacific relations.

SYDNEY, KOMPAS – The ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Sydney, Australia, ended on Sunday (18/3/2018) with the launch of the Sydney Declaration, which expressed the commitment of ASEAN and Australian leaders to strengthening regional partnership in the Pacific.

The Sydney Declaration comprises 29 points, including economic, security, terrorism eradication, human resource quality and people’s welfare aspects.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo emphasized the importance of strengthening regional partnerships. Such partnerships must be inclusive within the framework of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) between ASEAN, India, China, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

The Sydney Declaration was delivered by Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull as host and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as ASEAN chair. It is hoped that preparations for RCEP will be completed in late 2018 and the partnership can be implemented immediately.

“The summit has given us an opportunity to confirm Australia’s steadfast commitment to ASEAN, the centrality of ASEAN and Australia as an all-weather friend, now and into the future,” Turnbull said.

The Sydney Declaration was launched after leaders participated in a plenary session of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit at the International Convention Center in Darling Harbor on Sunday morning. At noon, Turnbull asked all of them to hop on a passenger’s ferry from the dock in front of the building and sailed to the Admiralty House, the residence of Australian Governor General Peter Cosgrove, for a luncheon and a retreat session where the leaders exchanged ideas on regional partnerships until the afternoon.

After accompanying the President in the retreat, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi explained that, in the first session of the plenary meeting, President Jokowi focused on the importance that all parties complete the RCEP in mutually beneficial negotiations. The President asked all leaders to commit in completing RCEP negotiations by the end of the year based on the principle of free and fair trade.

Once the negotiations are complete, Retno said, RCEP will be the largest trading bloc in the world as it will involve 16 countries and half of the world’s population. The bloc comprises 31.6 percent of global gross domestic product and 28.5 percent of global trade value.

Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita said that the negotiation team continuously made efforts to achieve results that are fair and beneficial for all. Currently, RCEP is a trade bloc concept based on long-term partnership. “We target to complete all negotiations by the end of the year,” he said.

Currently, Indonesia is consulting with various countries, especially in ASEAN, to develop a transparent and inclusive Indo-Pacific concept. This concept that unites countries in the Indian and Pacific Oceans emphasizes dialog-based relationship, cooperation and respect or international laws, among other issues.

Retno continued that there were three major issues discussed in the plenary session between ASEAN and Australian leaders, namely ASEAN-Australia relationship, economic partnership and terrorism eradication.

Regarding the signing of a memorandum of understanding on terrorism eradication, Retno said that President Jokowi talked about the balancing of hard and soft approaches, much like what Indonesia had been doing. Currently, Indonesia prioritizes using soft approach to embrace and bring around members of terror groups, especially former terrorists operating in foreign countries.

According to Retno, the President reaffirmed that Indonesia’s continuous efforts in establishing regional partnerships thus far proved that the country had always contributed to the establishment of sustainable peace, regional security and stability as well as global prosperity.

Korean Peninsula and South China Sea

ASEAN and Australia are also committed to deepen their responses to a number of regional and global challenges. In security, challenges include the developing situation in the Korean Peninsula and violent terrorism and extremism. ASEAN and Australia are also committed to uphold international law and order in the region, including in facing current situations in the South China Sea.

“We strongly urge the DPRK to immediately and fully comply with its obligations under all relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) and call on all UN Member States to fully implement relevant UNSCRs,” said the ASEAN-Australia joint statement regarding political dynamics in the Korean Peninsula.

Turnbull reaffirmed the statement by warmly welcoming the planned meeting between the US and North Korea to talk about denuclearizing Pyongyang.

On South China Sea, ASEAN and Australia reaffirmed the importance of bringing forward and maintaining peace, stability, maritime safety and security and navigational and air space freedom in the region. Loong said that ASEAN member states enjoy good relationship with China in many sectors.