Papua New Guinea's Asean membership to be discussed at KL meeting, says Indonesia

The Star

13 hours ago

JAKARTA / KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): Papua New Guinea's bid to join Asean will be among the key items discussed at the 58th Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) in Kuala Lumpur next week, Indonesia's Foreign Ministry said.
Its director-general for Asean cooperation, Sidharto Suryodipuro, said that the Pacific nation had applied to join the 10-member regional bloc, and President Prabowo Subianto had expressed support for the move during the 46th Asean Summit in May.
"With regard to application, it will certainly be a subject of discussion. The format and process will be determined by the Asean Chair. At this stage, I will not comment on how it will be deliberated,' he said at a press briefing on Thursday (July 3).
Sidharto said that based on past experience, discussions would likely begin with an agreement on the procedural framework for assessing the application.
"Of course, the discussions will go through several stages. I cannot yet say whether the process will be the same as what Timor-Leste went through or if it will differ, that will be a collective decision, a consensus among Asean members,' he added.
Sidharto was responding to questions on a range of regional issues, including PNG's potential accession, the status of Timor-Leste's membership, the situation in Myanmar, North Korea's attendance at the Asean Regional Forum (ARF), and recent US trade tariffs.
Aaean founded in 1967, currently comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
On media reports that Myanmar's military junta may oppose Timor-Leste's full membership in October, he said: "We've seen the reports, but we haven't yet heard directly from Myanmar's representative.'
He noted that Timor-Leste's accession had already been agreed at the Asean Summit level, and further discussions on the matter would take place during the foreign ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia is expected to brief member states on the work of the Asean special envoy on Myanmar, he added.
Regarding North Korea's possible participation in the ARF, Sidharto said the matter was not dependent on bilateral ties between Pyongyang and Asean members.
"The presence of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) delegation is not linked to bilateral relations. This is a common diplomatic practice. As Indonesia, we always hope that the Foreign Minister of the DPRK will attend the ARF meeting,' he said.
However, he noted that North Korean Foreign Minister had not attended the ARF in recent years and was usually represented by the ambassador in the host country.
In this case, he said there is currently no North Korean ambassador posted in Kuala Lumpur.
On the issue of US tariffs, Sidharto said Asean foreign ministers would be briefed by the Asean Geoeconomics Task Force during the meeting.
"The US tariff measures are a shared concern, not only for Indonesia, but also for Asean and many countries around the world,' he said.
The Asean Geoeconomics Task Force, co-chaired by Malaysia and Indonesia, held its inaugural meeting on May 16.
According to the Asean Secretariat, the Task Force discussed the regional economic outlook, the implications of unilateral trade policies, and potential collective responses. - Bernama