VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (left) and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo meet ahead of the ASEAN leaders' summit at the Bogor Presidential Palace in West Java on April 23. (Handout/Lukas/Indonesian Presidential Palace via Reuters) - 

Indonesia and Vietnam have renewed calls to finish ongoing negotiations on the delimitation of the maritime boundary between their exclusive economic zones (EEZ) near the South China Sea to provide clarity and avoid incidents in the waters.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo hosted Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at Bogor Palace in West Java on Friday, ahead of the highly anticipated ASEAN leaders meeting on Myanmar over the weekend.

This was the first meeting between the leaders. The Prime Minister assumed office earlier this month. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said President Jokowi stressed the importance of accelerating the EEZ negotiations, which had been ongoing for 11 years. 

“The President suggested that the technical teams from the two countries immediately resume the talks and finish the negotiations" President said. 

ASEAN leaders held a special meeting on the Myanmar crisis on Saturday in which they called for an immediate end to the violence against protesters in the country and for special envoys to be sent to push for inclusive dialogue there.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo told reporters after the meeting that in a push for a dialogue that includes all stakeholders, ASEAN leaders reached a consensus on sending special envoys -- the ASEAN secretary general and chair of the regional bloc -- to Myanmar//JP