APEC meet ends with call for Doha talks resumption
Nov 19, 2006 - 9:46:29 PM
, Reviewed by: Priya Saxena
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Since North Korea's nuclear test on Oct 9, South Korea has been under pressure from the US to sign on to the security initiative, after a UN resolution approved the ship inspections, as well as financial and travel sanctions on Pyongyang.
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By DPA,
[RxPG] Hanoi, Nov 19 (DPA) Leaders of the Pacific Rim nations wrapped up a two-day summit in Hanoi Sunday with a united call for the resumption of the Doha Round talks and a commitment to consider a free-trade area for the Asia-Pacific region.
'The consequences of the failure of the Doha round would be too grave for our economies and for the global multilateral trading system,' said a joint statement issued by the 21 leaders attending the 14th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Hanoi.
The summit was attended by US President George W. Bush and 20 leaders from many of the world's most powerful trade-driven economies including China, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Mexico and the fast-growing tigers of Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, which earlier this month was accepted into the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
On Saturday the leaders pledged to break the deadlock in the WTO Doha Round by committing themselves to moving beyond their current positions in the stalled negotiations.
'Each of us is committed to moving beyond our current positions in key areas of the Round,' an APEC statement said.
The powerful grouping, accounting for nearly half the world's trade, promised to bring the necessary flexibility to the Doha round of negotiations to ensure a breakthrough.
In a major concession to the US, the leaders agreed to undertake 'further studies on ways and means to promote regional economic integration, including a free trade area of the Asia-Pacific as a long-term prospect,' and present the results at the next annual APEC summit in Australia, said the joint statement.
The US-led proposal to set up a Free Trade Area for the Asia Pacific (FTAAP), while not seriously considered at this year's summit, has gained momentum, mainly as a fallback should the Doha talks fail.
'We will look at the FTAAP as an alternative (to Doha) if it flopped, or as a supplement to Doha,' said Mark Johnson, the co-chairman of the APEC Business Advisory Council, which met with APEC leaders Saturday.
Johnson acknowledged that the proposal also served to put pressure on the European Union back to the Doha Round.
Although APEC is essentially an economic forum, attending leaders met on the sidelines of the summit to discuss the region's main security threat - North Korea's security threat.
As of Saturday, there were still disagreements among leaders on how to handle the North Korean regime.
On Saturday, Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pushed for tougher tactics, including interception and inspections of cargo ships, according to a Japanese spokesperson.
'We should be strong enough to exercise pressure on North Korea so that they understand the situation rather than to take a more soft approach,' said Mitsuo Sakaba, press secretary of the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
However, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun continued to resist participating in the inspection of ships approaching North Korean waters to keep the country from acquiring more nuclear and missile material, after its first-ever test of a nuclear weapon last month.
Roh has called for an 'appropriate combination' of dialogue and pressure.
On Saturday he stopped short of pledging full participation in the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) inspections aimed at enforcing UN sanctions on North Korea passed after the nuclear test.
Following his meeting with Bush, Roh said South Korea supports the goals of the security initiative but 'is not taking part in the full scope of the PSI.'
All sides sought to send a message that the five parties besides North Korea in the upcoming talks - China, the US, Japan, South Korea and Russia - are united in resolve for achieving 'concrete outcomes,' presumably concessions by Pyongyang leading to it abandoning nuclear weapons.
Since North Korea's nuclear test on Oct 9, South Korea has been under pressure from the US to sign on to the security initiative, after a UN resolution approved the ship inspections, as well as financial and travel sanctions on Pyongyang.
South Korea has said it will not join the inspections because it does not want to provoke North Korea as its neighbour prepares to rejoin the six-nation talks, expected next month in Beijing.
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