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Indonesia signaled that it wanted to be at the forefront of regional disaster preparedness on Saturday as ministers from the ASEAN nations met to discuss co-ordinating aid to Japan in the wake of the recent earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis there.

“I hope this meeting will discuss what kind of solidarity and help that we can offer from ASEAN to Japan,” President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at the opening of the half-day meeting.

Indonesia was willing to help in a variety of ways, he said. “I'm happy to inform that Indonesia is now building a peace-keeping and security center in West Java that could be used for training, education and cooperation for disaster management,” Yudhoyono said.

“I offer the facility to be used together to intensify cooperation for disaster management. Naturally, disasters will always come, and we don’t know which country might be hit, but with the system, cooperation and technology development, we could minimize the disaster risk.”

Yudhoyono expected that Indonesia's cooperation could be later enlarged to cover economic sectors and other sectors.

Foreign ministers from ASEAN's 10 nations and Japan attended the meeting, co-chaired by Indonesia's Foreign Minister Party Natalegawa and his Japanese counterpart, Takeaki Matsumoto, to discuss the aftermath of the magnitude-9.0 earthquake, disaster management and relief and recovery efforts, also focusing on pre-disaster management including prevention, mitigation and risk reduction.

Yudhoyono said that ASEAN countries have in the past been helped by the Japanese government and people in times of disaster. “For that reason, we think this is the moment that ASEAN countries should show solidarity and help for the people of Japan, though we know that in its preparedness for disasters, Japan is in the forefront in terms of experience, system and high technology, along with people's alertness and preparedness,” Yudhoyono said. 

“I’m sure Japan will soon pick itself up and rebuild, but it is obviously a good thing if ASEAN countries and people can also offer solidarity and aid.”

The earthquake that struck northeast Japan on March 11 took tens of thousands of lives, as well as destroying cities, social and economic life and the environment, and partially destroying a nuclear power plant.

The meeting was also expected to discuss ways to enhance cooperation for disaster mitigation as well as recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction. Yudhoyono reminded that ASEAN has an agreement on disaster management and emergency response that could be used for ASEAN countries in providing the help.

Indonesia is the current chair of ASEAN.