By Fardah
Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Bali which hosted the first ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit in February 1976, will be the venue of another ASEAN Summit on November 17, 2011.
The upcoming 19th ASEAN Summit will be the second ASEAN summit organized by Indonesia, the current Chair of ASEAN, this year after the 18th ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, May 2011.
In conjunction with the 19th ASEAN Summit, the Sixth East Asian Summit which is to be attended by the leaders of ASEAN plus Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the US, will also be held in Bali on November 19, 2011.
The United States and Russia will participate for the first time in the East Asian Summit.
Besides, there will also be an ASEAN Plus Three (Japan, China and South Korea) summit on November 18, 2011. The three summits will all be held at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center.
On the sidelines of the three summits, there will be among other things the Third ASEAN-US Summit to discuss ASEAN-US cooperation in the Southeast Asian region and at global level, Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Tene said at a press conference in Jakarta on October 7, 2011.
More than 2,000 journalists from around the world were expected to cover the event, Communication and Informatics Minister Tifatul Sembiring reported to Vice President Boediono in Jakarta, on October 6, 2011 during a meeting discussing the preparations for the Summits.
"US President Barack Obama alone will bring along about 150 American journalists," the minister said as quoted by a spokesman of the vice president.
Prior to attending the East Asia Summit, President Obama is scheduled to attend the ASEAN-US Summit in Bali, on November 18.
Established in 1967, ASEAN groups Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam. Indonesia's theme for its ASEAN chairmanship is "ASEAN Community in a Global Community of Nations".
Besides Obama, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev are also expected to join the Summits.
Vice President Boediono inspected the venue of the Summits and expressed optimism that Indonesia would host the events successfully.
"I am also optimistic we will be a good host," he told newsmen at Ngurah Rai airport, Denpasar, Bali Province, on Tuesday (Oct 11) after inspecting the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center as the venue for the Summits and Hotel Ayodhya which is to be used as a retreat for the leaders of ASEAN and the association's dialogue partners.
Boediono was flanked by Chief Security Minister Djoko Suyanto, Deputy Foreign Minister Triyono Wibowo and Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika during the inspection.
As almost 20 world leaders, including US President Barack Obama, are expected to gather in Bali, security naturally must become a priority concern for the Bali provincial administration.
"We as the party responsible for national security will guarantee the safety of all the foreign dignitaries attending the summit in Bali," Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto said when accompanying the vice president during the inspection of the Summit locations earlier this month.
He said although none of those countries had requested special security arrangements, his office had been coordinating with their security authorities.
Minister Djoko said although Bali was accustomed to the need for security preparations ahead of international events, his office deemed it necessary to take extra precautions for the ASEAN Summits and EAS as they would be attended by quite a number of world leaders.
Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika also has ensured Bali is secure and ready to welcome participants of the summits and is secure.
"Nothing will happen that could hinder its preparations, stability and its personnel's readiness," the governor said in Denpasar, recently.
Four F16 jet fighters will escort planes carrying the heads of state/government to attend the Bali summits.
"Where air territory is concerned, we will escort the journey of the heads of state/government from the national defense territory to Bali using F16 jet fighters until they land," Commander of Bali's Ngurah Rai Air Base Lt. Col. Jumarto said on Sunday.
Three warships will be made standby in Bali Waters during the Summits. Around 600 Naval officers would also be deployed to secure Bali, Commander of the Main Naval Base V Denpasar Colonel I Wayan Suarjana said in Denpasar last Sunday (Oct 9).
"The area to be secured of course the whole Bali are, but for the Summits, we will concentrate on soutern and northern parts of Bali," he said.
Denpasar's Ngurah Rai aiport meanwhile had also provided extra parking space for six wide-bodied planes that would carry the leaders of foreign nations to Balo for the summits.
Besides the parking lot for six wide-bodied planes the airport had also provided space for the parking of Air Force aircraft that would be assigned to safeguard the air territory in Bali during the event.
Medium-sized planes belonging to heads of states/government would be parked in Surabaya. This has to be put in order to ensure that commercial flights at Ngurah Rai would not be disturbed.
He said the Bali provincial administration would issue rules or make arrangements to mitigate the inconveniences tourists may experience during the top level conferences.(*)
