Grouping not disturbed by us troops deployment in Australia

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said ASEAN member countries are not disturbed nor do they feel threatened by the US decision to deploy around 2,500 troops in Darwin, Australia.

"This must not be seen as something disturbing," he said to newsmen at the venue of the 19th ASEAN Summit.

He said the stand of the US and Australia also must not be seen as a threat to peace in the Southeast Asian region.

ASEAN will soon issue the Bali Principles which according to Marty contain something like an agreement on how ASEAN member countries and their partners will conduct themselves to create a peaceful atmosphere in the region.

Indonesia is currently the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. 

Regarding the country`s stand, Marty said Indonesia also does not feel threatened by the development and would not be trapped into the flow of perceptions leading to see it as a threat.

"Indonesia will not be trapped into that kind of situation," he said.

US President Barack Obama during his recent visit in Australia announced that the US would station 2,500 marines in Darwin, a region close to Indonesia.

The Australian Sydney Morning Herald in its headline said the permanent deployment of the troops had been considered several years ago when Washington sought to strengthen its Pacific Command.

The US decision was feared to increase tension in the Southeast Asian region now seeking to curb disputes in the South China Sea in which China and four ASEAN members are involved.

Marty said earlier that ASEAN would never let itself be used as a arena for competition among big powers for certain interests.

"ASEAN will not allow the Southeast Asian region to be used as an arena for big power competition," he said to newsmen at the 19th ASEAN Summit venue on Wednesday.

He said ASEAN was not afraid that its stance might strain its relations with several big countries which are members of the East Asia Summit forum such as China, Japan, the US and Russia.

Marty said the ASEAN leaders would make an agreement on the Bali Principles in the 19th ASEAN Summit officially opened on Thursday. The principles regulate acts of all member countries including strong countries so that peace in the region would be maintained.

He said it was agreed at all ASEAN ministerial-level meetings that the region had to be kept secure, peaceful and stable. The region had so far been able to reduce or even eliminate conflicts among members.

Source: ANTARA