Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesian Coordinating Minister of Politics, Law and Security Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan met with US Ambassador to Indonesia Robert Blake in Jakarta on November 19 to discuss security in the East Sea.
At the meeting, Luhut expressed Indonesia’s stance not to become directly involved in the East Sea issue. He said that the two countries agreed to prioritise dialogue as an important measure to address the East Sea conflicts.
The two officials also spoke about plans to organise a meeting between ASEAN countries and the US in California.
Earlier, Indonesian Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu announced that Indonesia must create an approach based on defence diplomacy in the context of the East Sea situation. He said he believed that parties involved should tackle the issue through constructive approaches.
Sea development has been one of President Joko Widodo’s priorities since he took office in October 2014. Indonesia once recommended joint patrol in the waters and received positive response from some nations, including Australia, Cambodia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.-VNA