(Front L-R) His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, and Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao posing for a group photo during the Bali Democracy Forum III in Nusa dua, Bali, Indonesia, yesterday.Picture: EPA Friday, December 10, 2010
INDONESIAN President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono warned yesterday that uneven political development posed a threat to Asian security, as he opened the third annual Bali Democracy Forum.
He said regional cooperation had focused almost exclusively on economic development but there was an "urgent need to overcome the 'political development' gap" as well.
"If we don't handle this carefully, this political development gap could cause trouble for development, create political instability and become a security threat to the region," he said in a speech.
"It is important that we have a better understanding of peace and democracy which must become part of regional cooperation."
Indonesia is a founding member of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which includes democracies like Thailand and the Philippines alongside communist states like Vietnam and junta-ruled Myanmar, which has recently organised elections.
As the bloc's biggest economy, it has been keen to advance principles of democracy and human rights which it has championed since the fall of military strongman Suharto in 1998 after more than three decades in power.
The democracy forum, being held as usual in the plush surrounds of a luxury resort on the holiday island of Bali, is an initiative of Yudhoyono's to encourage open discussion of democracy among the region's disparate states.
This year's forum is being co-chaired by Yudhoyono and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak, who is no stranger to the gap of political development between his country and the neighbouring North.
"Asia has emerged as an axis of world change, that's why we have to cooperate across a number of responsibilities so that democracy and our economies can grow together," Lee said in remarks translated from Korean.
His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and representatives of some 69 other countries including Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd are attending the two-day meeting.
courtesy of--AFP
He said regional cooperation had focused almost exclusively on economic development but there was an "urgent need to overcome the 'political development' gap" as well.
"If we don't handle this carefully, this political development gap could cause trouble for development, create political instability and become a security threat to the region," he said in a speech.
"It is important that we have a better understanding of peace and democracy which must become part of regional cooperation."
Indonesia is a founding member of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which includes democracies like Thailand and the Philippines alongside communist states like Vietnam and junta-ruled Myanmar, which has recently organised elections.
As the bloc's biggest economy, it has been keen to advance principles of democracy and human rights which it has championed since the fall of military strongman Suharto in 1998 after more than three decades in power.
The democracy forum, being held as usual in the plush surrounds of a luxury resort on the holiday island of Bali, is an initiative of Yudhoyono's to encourage open discussion of democracy among the region's disparate states.
This year's forum is being co-chaired by Yudhoyono and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak, who is no stranger to the gap of political development between his country and the neighbouring North.
"Asia has emerged as an axis of world change, that's why we have to cooperate across a number of responsibilities so that democracy and our economies can grow together," Lee said in remarks translated from Korean.
His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and representatives of some 69 other countries including Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd are attending the two-day meeting.
courtesy of--AFP
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