Indonesia scrambles to end Asean rift over sea

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr, left, speaks during joint press conference with his Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, July 16, 2012. AP/Tatan Syuflana

MANILA, Philippines—Indonesia’s top diplomat says he has begun an emergency swing through Southeast Asia to try to end disagreements over territorial rifts in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). He is pushing for a new pact aimed at avoiding future confrontations in the disputed region.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said he met his Philippine counterpart, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, in Manila on Wednesday and would fly to other Southeast Asian nations to try to ease the discord and avoid further damage to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Asean foreign ministers failed to publicly issue a concluding joint statement after their annual summit in Phnom Penh last week when host Cambodia rejected a proposal by the Philippines and Vietnam to mention their separate territorial disputes with China in the statement.