[Kabar-indonesia] Asia reaffirm strengthening cooperation against nuclear terrorism

[Joyo at aol.com]

[+Haze]

also: ASEAN ministers to push for strict measures to fight
haze

Asia reaffirm strengthening cooperation against nuclear
terrorism

TOKYO (AP, Nov. 9, 2006): A seminar on nuclear terrorism
reaffirmed the importance of cooperation among countries in
Asia, the region jittery over North Korea's recent nuclear
test, officials said Thursday.

The "Seminar on Strengthening Nuclear Security in Asian
Countries" concluded after two days of discussions,
according to Foreign Ministry official Mizuki Sugitani.

The event was co-hosted by the Japanese Foreign Ministry and
the International Atomic Energy Agency and was attended by
105 officials and academics, according to a ministry
statement.

The officials agreed that the countries need to work
together to prevent nuclear terrorist acts, the statement
said.

The seminar also called on the IAEA to enhance its
cooperation with the Asian nations to ensure acceptable
levels of security are applied to all nuclear and other
radioactive material.

The officials were from the member countries of
theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, as well
as South Korea, China, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Academics and officials from Australia, Brazil, Canada, the
U.S. and Spain also took part.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

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ASEAN ministers to push for strict measures to fight haze

MANILA (AP, Nov. 9, 2006): Southeast Asian environment
ministers will push for binding measures to fight haze from
forest fires in Indonesia that has choked parts of the
region, an official said Thursday.

"We hope to arrive at a clear understanding and agreements
on binding measures during a top-level meeting of
environment officials this week," Philippine Environment
Secretary Angelo Reyes said.

Environment ministers from the 10-member Association of
Southeast Asian Nations began gathering in the Philippines'
central Cebu province for their annual meeting on Friday and
Saturday, and will be joined by counterparts from Japan,
Chinaand South Korea.

The ministers also will discuss nature conservation and
biodiversity, coastal and marine environment, water
resources management and environmental agreements, Reyes
said in astatement.

Haze - a mix of dust, smoke and other pollutants - is a
regular problem in the region and is caused by land and
forest fires in Indonesia, particularly in Sumatra and
Kalimantan.

Southeast Asian nations have urged Indonesia to ratify a
regional treaty to fight annual brush fires that have sent
choking smoke across parts of Malaysia and Singapore, saying
only then would it get financial help.

In 2002, ASEAN nations signed the Agreement on Transboundary
Haze Pollution, but Indonesia is the only country in the
group that has yet to ratify it. The agreement would result
in the establishment of a regional coordinating center
capable of reacting quickly to the smoke.

ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong recently urged members
to demonstrate willpower to solve the recurring problem,
saying it was just a question of enforcing measures that
have already been agreed to.

Last month, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
apologized for the haze and his spokesman said his country
was prepared to sign on to the ASEAN agreement, but did not
provide a time frame.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia,
Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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