PUTRAJAYA: Developments over the South China Sea are expected to be discussed at the Asean foreign ministers meeting in Laos from today to July 26.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman is to lead Malaysia’s delegation to the 49th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (49th AMM) and related meetings in Vientiane.
Wisma Putra, in a statement yesterday, said that during the 49th AMM, the Asean foreign ministers would discuss issues related to the Asean Community, implementation of the Asean Political-Security Blueprint 2025 as well as preparations for the 28th and 29th Asean Summits in September.
“The foreign ministers will also exchange views on regional and international issues of common concern such as developments over the South China Sea, the situation in the Korean Peninsula, terrorism and violent extremism, maritime security and other non-traditional security issues,” it said.
The 49th AMM will be preceded by several preparatory meetings at the Senior Officials level, it said.
Wisma Putra said the Asean foreign ministers would also attend the Post-Ministerial Conferences (PMCs) with 10 Asean Dialogue Partners, namely Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States.
Malaysia is the country coordinator for Asean-US Dialogue Relations for the period 2015-2018.
Wisma Putra said Anifah and US Secretary of State John Kerry would co-chair the Asean PMC+1 with the US.
Apart from the 47th AMM and Asean+1 PMCs, the Asean foreign ministers will also participate in the 17th Asean Plus Three Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (17th APT FMM), the 6th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (6th EAS FMM) and the 23rd Asean Regional Forum (23rd ARF).
On the sidelines of these meetings, Anifah would hold a number of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Asean and Dialogue Partners to discuss issues of common concern, it said.
“At the conclusion of the 49th AMM and Related Meetings, the foreign ministers are expected to adopt a number of outcome documents, including the 49th AMM’s Joint Communiqué which will highlight discussions and decisions made during the meetings,” it said. — Bernama