I have my own view, SBY tells PM Lee Hsien Loong

Clivebenss SG

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono are great friends, but that does not always keep them from expressing different points of view.

Timor Leste’s application for membership in ASEAN has become a source of difference between Indonesia and Singapore over the last several years, with Yudhoyono showing strong support while Lee expressing firm rejection.

The contention emerged again during the ASEAN leaders’ retreat summit here on Thursday.

As Yudhoyono explained issues he hoped would be included in the chairman’s statement for the summit, Lee interrupted when the discussion touched on the issue of whether ASEAN should consider the application of Timor Leste.

According to an ASEAN official attending the retreat, Lee raised questions regarding why Timor Leste was on the agenda and what was so special about the country, adding that Fiji and Papua New Guinea also expressed interest but had never received genuine attention.

Lee continued by questioning whether Timor Leste had met the six requirements enshrined in the ASEAN Charter for a country to become a member of the regional block.

Yudhoyono replied: “I respect your view, but I also have my own.”

In the end, Timor Leste’s application was included in the chairman’s statement, with ASEAN leaders welcoming the nation’s interest and formal application to join ASEAN.

“We task the ASEAN Coordinating Council [ACC], including through the establishment of a working group to discuss all relevant aspects related to the application. The working group shall make recommendations to the ACC on the application based on whether Timor Leste is able to meet the requirements of Article 6 of the ASEAN Charter,” the statement read.

Timor Leste submitted its revised proposal of formal application for full membership in the bloc to the current ASEAN chair, Indonesia, on Tuesday.

Timor Leste’s application had always faced challenges from Singapore, which has argued that the country would hinder ASEAN’s moves toward a regional community by 2015. Singapore’s objections to Timor Leste’s membership request are based largely on the development gap between the country and ASEAN member states overall, which it fears would make the region’s economic integration by 2015 more difficult.

However, during the foreign ministers meeting on Wednesday, foreign ministers from Cambodia and Malaysia directly questioned Singapore’s insistence on rejecting Timor Leste’s bid, saying that they supported the renewed application and there was no reason not to review it based on the declaration.

Timor Leste was a Portuguese colony from the 16th century until its decolonization in late 1975 when then-East Timor declared its independence. Later that year it was invaded by Indonesia.

Following a UN-sponsored act of self-determination in 1999, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory and Timor Leste became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on May 20, 2002.

Several experts have agreed that Indonesia’s move in pushing for the admittance of Timor Leste to the bloc reflects ASEAN’s maturity and shows that ASEAN belongs to all Southeast Asian nations despite their economic differences.

winsomeea SG

Parasite LHL is a bad egg. Arrogant arse!

Rock^Star SG

Singapore is actually peanuts compared to Indonesia.

Rooney_07 SG

Singapore is actually peanuts compared to Indonesia.

little red dot lor

BanguIzai SG

Singapore is actually peanuts compared to Indonesia.

Singapore is already peanuts compared to Timor Leste.

Clivebenss SG

Singapore is already peanuts compared to Timor Leste.

Singapore want to be Sino.

Won't be surprised if leaving ASEAN.

Dalforce 25 SG

U.S gave Suharto the green light to invade East Timor. Suharto was a U.S ally in cold war, helped to destroy the Indonesian Communist party so he was allowed to annex East Timor.

FORD, KISSINGER AND THE INDONESIAN INVASION, 1975-76

Ford and Kissinger Gave Green Light to
Indonesia's Invasion of East Timor, 1975:
New Documents Detail Conversations with Suharto

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB62/

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Terrorism/GoodBadGenocide.html

lce SG

wat is ASEAN? wat fuction?

talk cock, sing song n yo lumpar?

Dalforce 25 SG

wat is ASEAN? wat fuction?

talk cock, sing song n yo lumpar?

Their plan is to form an Asean community by 2015, then later this will form the core of an East Asian community with the inclusion of China, Korea, Japan and perhaps India.

This will be a EU like political organisation.

Everyone is forming blocs there days.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/19/world/europe/russia-3-countries-join-eurasian-union.html

Bulgaria: Putin Wants to Revive Soviet, Russian Empires into 'Eurasian Union'

http://times.am/?l=en&p=401

Of course the end goal of all these blocs are targeted against U.S hegemony.

U.S also joined the east asia summit in order to make trouble and sabotage the bloc.

U.S. joins East Asia summit in challenge to China

I want to see the complete annihilation of U.S hegemony.

A lot of these complicated political maneuverings are being made now, those political watchers will know.

India may get full membership of SCO next year, says Shinde

http://www.livemint.com/2011/11/16211323/India-may-get-full-membership.html

Russia, China want India, Pakistan to join SCO as full members

http://netindian.in/news/2011/11/01/00016889/russia-china-want-india-pakistan-join-sco-full-members

The promise of SCO

http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2011/11/the-promise-of-sco/

Venezuelan Chavez suggests replacement for OAS

However, some countries in the region have supported President Chavez and his idea to replace the OAS with an organization that does not include the United States and Canada. The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC, appears as the strongest candidate. The new regional bloc will be created in December in Caracas.

In October, the Secretary General of the OAS, Jose Miguel Insulza, said that the organization faces a budget crisis after the member countries approved an $ 85.3 million budget for 2012, which is equal to that of 2011. Insulza informed that at the moment five staff positions of trust will be eliminated and no new job posts will be created in 2012.

The debate on the creation of a new sort of OAS without the U.S. as a member had been left aside when the CELAC summit originally scheduled to take place in July was postponed, after Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez was diagnosed with cancer in June. Chavez has said that the proposal of a Latin American OAS is necessary to get rid of the North American colonialism.

Caracas is to be the spot for important changes in the region when 33 heads of state will attend the December summit; where the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States will become official.

The occasion will simultaneously serve to hold an extraordinary meeting of Unasur requested by President Chavez in which the members of this sub-regional bloc are expected to debate on issues of integration, economy, and peace.

http://presstv.com/detail/210611.html

Latin America

All of these blocs have a common target.

Rock^Star SG

To be honest, the other countries are giving face to sg by not having an arms race. They can if they want to.....they have the resources and the wealth. Just that war is not a bloody likely possibility.

lce SG

alamak, formin an array of friends or foe?

stopping sinkapore from gainin land mass? Laughing

Chris88110 SG

Resources yes but last I checked they were lacking just slightly on wealth. Just slightly.

Dejomel SG

It's more of a matter of common sense than "giving face to" Singapore.

No sane country with a good grasp of recent history is going to want to spend billions of dollars on pointless arms races just two decades after the Cold War.

Dalforce 25 SG

alamak, formin an array of friends or foe?

stopping sinkapore from gainin land mass? Laughing

No, it is about big power politics and rivalry. Basically, U.S is now the no.1 bastard in the world and other powers like Russia, China, Brazil, EU, India, Japan and others want to take the U.S down.

And U.S policy is to prevent any power from rising to challenge it.

It schemes and plots to sabotage these attempts by the other powers to form blocs against it.

All the wars fought by U.S from 1991 to now are part of that U.S hegemonic strategy.

It is a shadow rivalry, not openly declared like the cold war but has been taking place all the while.

wsy1234 SG

Hello even i hate LEE I see that in other news sources it is not true that singapore so call reject Timor Leste to join ASEAN, it a lie by The Jakarta Post.

winsomeea SG

Hello even i hate LEE I see that in other news sources it is not true that singapore so call reject Timor Leste to join ASEAN, it a lie by The Jakarta Post.

If you have evidence we will believe you - News from local controlled media not included.

Clivebenss SG

why should Jakarta Post lie?

Singapore's LHL has been opposing Timor Leste inclusion for a long time, this is well known fact.

Amitayus48 SG

The world will be alot better for inclusiveness. Sg is a nation with inclusiveness of different nationals. The world has to work towards one people-one nation-one love, gather all the advantages on geographical differences and develop it for its people to live in peace and joys through the sharing of resources...:D