NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (AP) — U.S.
President Barack Obama and other world leaders who gathered in Myanmar
to discuss issues ranging from rival claims over the South China Sea to
threats posed by the Ebola virus offered tepid expressions of concern
Thursday and no firm commitments.
But some experts still say it was more than just a talk-shop.
While
agendas and the outcomes are usually reached months in advance,
Panithan Wattanayagorn, a professor at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn
University, said such meetings "allow heads of state to meet directly
and exchange ideas, to prioritize and reflect on them."
Much of it is about showing unity," he said, and building trust.
Millions
of dollars are spent hosting Association of Southeast Asian Nations and
the East Asia summits, which were held back-to-back Wednesday and
Thursday in Myanmar's purpose-built capital, Naypyitaw.
Obama,
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev,
South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Indian Prime Minister Narendra
Modi were among 18 leaders attending. And it was the first ASEAN summit
for newly elected Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
Below are some of final statements and comments made on the sidelines:
THE SOUTH CHINA SEA
Territorial
disputes in the South China Sea, which is of tremendous strategic
importance to everyone, including Washington, need to be solved
peacefully and through dialogue. Southeast Asian nations and China
should work toward the early conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the
South China Sea.
MYANMAR
While not on the official
agenda, recent backslides of Myanmar's once-heralded reforms were raised
on the sidelines, as were expressions of "deep concern" about
persecution of country's stateless Rohingya Muslims. U.N. Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon urged President Thein Sein to address the issue of
citizenship — an underlying issue behind violence and systematic
discrimination. Obama vowed to deliver the same message during his
meeting.
EBOLA
Ebola
poses a global threat to peace and security and relief assistance is
needed to help fight the deadly virus in the hardest-hit West Africa
nations, home to most of the world's 5,000 deaths. When necessary,
leaders from Southeast Asian nations will seek technical assistance from
the World Health Organization to help detect and respond to public
health threats.
ISLAMIC STATE GROUP
Participants
reiterated that they supported efforts to restore law and order inside
Iraq as it - and the world at large - struggles with threats posed by
the Islamic State group. They called on Iraq and international partners
to ensure the protection of civilians and access to humanitarian
assistance for those affected by the conflict. They demanded the
immediate, safe and unconditional release of all those who are kept
hostage by the group or associated individuals and entities.
NORTH KOREA
Participants
underlined the importance of peace, security and stability on the
Korean Peninsula and stressed the need to return to six-party talks
aimed at dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear program. Those talks, which
brought together China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea, and the
United States, broke down in 2008