Statement of the President at the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Summit |
(Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, December 13, 2005) |
| The situation on
the Korean Peninsula binds us in our common interest for peace and stability in the
region, acting as a spur of cooperation in a wide range of areas.The ASEAN-ROK Plan of Action on energy security is
timely and relevant. Korean business is already investing heavily in electric power plants
in the Philippines, and contributing to the electrification of our countryside.
With the Plan of Action in place, we
should be able to work more effectively to secure energy resources for our region:
a. Ethanol -- ASEAN and Korea could
invest collectively in ethanol plants in Southeast Asia’s sugar-producing regions. b. Diesel oil from coconuts, which both Indonesia and the Philippines plant in large quantities. c. Wind farms and in rural solar-energy projects. d. Collective efforts to intensify oil-and-gas exploration in the China Sea claimed competitively by Japan and South Korea. e. Activating a regional stockpile. I suggest that we immediately embark on assessing arrangements for a regional hub/exchange for fuel. The Philippines is offering the use of the existing Subic Bay Terminal Freeport for this. As a final word, we need to boldly step up the alleviation of poverty in the BIMP-EAGA sub-region through investments and tourism. I wish to renew the call for the ROK to invest in the BIMP-EAGA and encourage its businessmen to trade with the EAGA private sector. Korean tourists are very visible in the sub-region and we invite more of them to come. |