ASEAN ministers commit to speeding up integration

www.chinaview.cn 2008-07-22 01:09:13

SINGAPORE, July 21 (Xinhua) --

Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ended their annual meeting on Monday with collective commitment to establish an integrated regional bloc.

"We reaffirmed our common desire and collective commitment to the establishment of an ASEAN Community of peace, stability and prosperity and social progress," the ministers said in a statement issued at the end of the one-day 41st ASEAN Ministerial Meeting.

THE ASEAN CHARTER

Addressing the opening of the meeting, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the regional bloc has decided to press on with the ASEAN Charter's implementation without waiting for all10 members to ratify it.

"The internal processes of member countries are different and some will be more difficult than others. However, the pace of ASEAN integration should not be set by its slowest members, or else all will be held back by the problems of a few", Lee said as ASEAN Chair.

The Charter, signed by ASEAN leaders in last November's summit, aims to transform the 10-member bloc from a loose association into a rules-based organization which will encourage members to take agreements and commitments seriously.

Myanmar's ratification of the ASEAN Charter was formalized here at a ceremony Monday afternoon, joining the other six member countries to ratify the Charter. Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia have not ratified the Charter yet.

During the meeting, the ministers reaffirmed the commitment to ratify the ASEAN Charter by the end-of-year summit in Bangkok, said the statement.

As part of the charter's goals, it has already set up a panel to study the establishment of a human rights body so as to brush up its human rights image in the eyes of the world and another panel to study the establishment of a dispute settlement mechanism to resolve any misunderstandings on agreements signed among member states.

ASSESSMENT REPORT OF MYANMAR DISASTER

The ministers also looked into a report assessing relief and recovery progress in Cyclone Nargis-struck Myanmar nearly three months after the country's worst disaster hit, leaving over 84,530people dead and a further 53,836 still reported missing.

The Post-Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA) report, which was drawn up by on-the-ground experts working under a tripartite cooperation between Myanmar, the United Nations and ASEAN, was released Monday.

The report said "Recovery needs, which are estimated a just over a total of 1 billion U.S. dollars over the next three years, include the most urgent priorities of significant food, agriculture, housing, basic services and support to communities for restoring their livelihoods and rebuilding assets."

This is the first time that ASEAN has played such a leading role in responding to a natural disaster affecting one of its member states. ASEAN facilitated and coordinated international assistance to the survivors of the cyclone as well as the conduct of this assessment.

FOOD AND ENERGY SECURITY

The ministers expressed their serious concern over the region's food and energy security, saying rising oil and food prices poses a serious challenge to the region continued economic development.

ASEAN, which has a combined GDP of 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars and a population of nearly 600 million, disapproves food export subsidies.

"We encouraged all countries to do away with price-distorting export subsidies and other protectionist policies and to provide market access to competitive food exports," said the statement.

On the recent volatility and rise of oil prices, ministers said ASEAN should strength cooperation, such as improving energy efficiency and conservation, to enhance the region's energy security.

DPRK-ASEAN NON-AGGRESSION PACT

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will sign a non-aggression treaty with its Southeast Asian neighbors at the end of the series of meetings on Thursday.

ASEAN said in Monday's statement that it warmly welcomed the impending accession by the DPRK to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) as a strong signal of the DPRK's commitment to the peace and security of the region.

"We noted that the continuing interest in the TAC underscores its important role as a key code of conduct governing inter-state relations in Southeast Asia. We also called upon other countries, particularly our Dialogue Partners and other interested parties, to consider acceding to the TAC," said the statement

TAC has been adopted by 24 countries including 10 ASEAN nations-Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Brunei, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Cambodia. The treaty was also adopted by Japan, China, South Korea, Russia, France, Australia, India, Pakistan, East Timor, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka.

On Tuesday, the ASEAN ministers will meet with their counterparts from Japan, China and South Korea in the ASEAN-plus-three foreign ministerial talks and also attend the first meeting of foreign ministers of the 16-nation East Asia Summit.

On Wednesday, the ASEAN ministers will have separate meetings with their counterparts from 10 key partners, including U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

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