ASEAN to sign historic concord in Bali

Moch. N. Kurniawan and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to adopt the draft of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), paving the way for the signing of the Bali Concord II.

The paper draft on the AEC was endorsed at the end of a two- day ASEAN Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) on Sunday in Jakarta.

"With the result from the two-day JCM, heads of state of ASEAN countries will sign the Bali Concord II during the ASEAN Summit from Oct. 7 through Oct. 8," said Makarim Wibisono, Director- General for Asia, Pacific and Africa at the foreign ministry, on Monday.

The so-called Bali Concord II aims to establish an economic, security, and social and cultural community among ASEAN member countries.

The drafting of the ASEAN Security Community (ASC) and the ASEAN Social and Cultural Community (ASCC) was concluded earlier this month in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.

Under the AEC draft, ASEAN countries would take collective measures to bring about the integration of an ASEAN economy, Makarim said.

"The AEC will be based on the common market minus and ASEAN Free Trade Area plus," Makarim said, referring to the synchronization of services, free trade and investment.

In regards regional security, ASEAN countries are to set up collective norms to realize the ASC, including resolving conflicts among ASEAN countries without using armed forces, he said.

It was clear that the ASC was not a pact, he said, as it did not involve the use of armed forces in handling disputes among ASEAN member countries.

The non-interference principle would still be respected, but if a problem in an ASEAN country was perceived as a regional problem, all member countries could express their views on the problem, he said.

With the planned realization of the ASC, ASEAN would be then empowered as an instrument of conflict resolution, peace keeping, and peace building, Makarim said.

"The ASEAN High Council will become an important mechanism in the ASC to settle all conflicts peacefully," he said.

Foreign ministry spokesman Marty A. Natalegawa said earlier that despite the existence of ASEAN, its member countries must always resolve disputes bilaterally or seek recourse at the International Court of Justice.

He said, for example, the dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia over the border islets of Sipadan and Ligitan was resolved through the International Court of Justice.

On the ASCC, Makarim said ASEAN countries would carry out joint measures to improve human resources development, reduce unemployment, cope with environment destruction and tackle dangerous diseases such as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

"A number of social and cultural problems in the region can incur great losses to ASEAN economy and security, so we need the ASCC," he said.

The Bali ASEAN Summit is to be a historical moment for the establishment of an ASEAN regional community over these issues. At the same occasion, Russia may also confirm its inclusion in the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC).

Makarim said the Russian government was waiting for approval from its parliament for the accession.

"For us, the Russian government is sure to join the TAC, and it is only a matter of time until it will do so.

"The Russian government may have the confirmation on Wednesday. If it is approved, then the country will sign the treaty at the upcoming summit," Makarim said.

He said the accession would be a historical move for the grouping to further ensure peace in the region.

The TAC is a treaty among ASEAN members to maintain peace and security in the region, and some of the regional grouping's dialog partners, such as Japan, is also a party to the treaty.

It was announced earlier that two major countries in Asia, China and India, are to sign the treaty at the Bali ASEAN Summit.