专家呼吁东盟首脑会议关注地区问题

The annual ASEAN summit brings together leaders from the ten Southeast Asian countries.

As usual, the leaders of China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand will also join the talks.

This year, the circle of participants has been expanded to include U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Qin Yaqing, vice director of the China Foreign Affairs University, says despite the expansion of the mechanism, the forum should still focus on regional affairs.

"Major world powers should not underestimate the role that ASEAN plays in maintaining regional stability. I think this year's summit should seriously think about how to truly respect the interests, concerns and development issues of the countries in this region."

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is leading China's delegation to Bali. He is also set to join the East Asian Summit that both Obama and Medvedev will participate in.

Qin says it is hoped that the summit will offer another dialogue platform for leaders of China and the United States.

"The East Asian Summit offers an opportunity for both China and the United States to coordinate their policy, and an opportunity to maintain regional stability and strengthen their cooperation in regional affairs."

Ahead of the East Asian summit, a series of diplomatic and business talks on the ministerial level are being held in Bali.
So far, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers have agreed to establish a Nuclear Weapon Free Zone in the region.

The agreement is non-binding until the leaders of the nuclear nations sign it.

At a meeting focused on economic issues, Indonesian President Susilo Yudhoyono says the ASEAN region remains an attractive place for business and investment.

"Our economic development is robust and the mass of the current global financial turmoil will continue to show our resilience. We are confident of reaching between 5.7 to 6.4 percent growth this year, complemented by an enormous market, a stable exchange rate and peaceful regional situation."

The ASEAN summit also comes at a time when the region is embroiled in territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

The Philippines says it is garnering support from allies to form a front against China on the territorial row.

China has made it clear that it opposes bringing up the South China Sea issue at the summit.

For CRI, I'm Su Yi.