JAKARTA: The 43rd Asean Summit began on Tuesday (Sept 5) with Indonesian President Joko Widodo calling for greater unity among members amid the Myanmar crisis and heightened tensions in the South China Sea over China's new map.
In his opening speech, the Indonesian president, who is popularly known as Jokowi, stressed that Asean unity was still very much strong and intact.
"Even with such unity, it should not be interpreted as the absence of differences of opinion.
"As a country with diverse ethnicities, cultures, languages, and religions, for Indonesia, unity is harmony in diversity, including differences of opinions.
"Because differences of opinion actually nourish democracy and demonstrate that we, as a family, have equal standing," he said at the Jakarta Convention Centre (JCC) on Tuesday.
The meeting comes amid heightened tensions in the South China Sea, after China released a new map laying claims over large swathes disputed by some Asean members, triggering protests including from Malaysia.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim arrived at the opening of the summit at about 9.43am local time.
He was accompanied by his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
On arrival at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) in Senayan here, they were welcomed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his wife Iriana as well as Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.
Anwar is leading the Malaysian delegation to the Asean Summit and related summits, being held from today until Thursday under Indonesia’s Asean Chairmanship with the theme “Asean Matters: Epicentrum of Growth”.
He will participate in the Asean Summit and the opening of the Asean-Indo Pacific Forum (AIPF) as well as hold meetings with the Malaysian diaspora and Indonesian friends here in the Temu Anwar programme.
Asean foreign ministers gathered Monday (Sept 4) to finalise the agenda for the leaders.
The meetings will also give the bloc's leaders opportunities to discuss political and security issues with dialogue partners such as the United States and China.
The conference today will be divided into two sessions. The first session will be using the plenary format and the second a retreat format.
Asean leaders are expected to review the The Five-Point Consensus (5PC) aimed at addressing the Myanmar crisis and calls for a cessation of hostilities and inclusive dialog to resolve the crisis in Myanmar, which, two years in, shows no sign of de-escalating.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir on Monday (Sept 4) expressed concern over the lack of progress and noted that Asean leaders will soon determine its next course of action.
