Highlights of ASEAN ministers' joint communique

Highlights of ASEAN ministers' joint communique

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Herewith highlights of the joint
communique issued by Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) foreign ministers at the end of their annual meeting
yesterday:

On implementing the decisions of the first ASEAN informal
summit in Jakarta last year, the foreign ministers:

-- welcomed the admission of Burma and Laos, agreeing that a
firm foundation for common action to promote regional cooperation
in Southeast Asia is being accomplished

-- noted that celebrations for the 30th anniversary of ASEAN
would be launched by Indonesian President Soeharto in Jakarta on
August 8, with the highlight being a commemorative ASEAN summit
in Kuala Lumpur in December with Chinese, Japanese and South
Korean leaders

-- recommended that leaders of the five founding members --
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand --
receive special citations

-- agreed to establish an ASEAN foundation through a
memorandum of understanding to be signed in December.

Regarding political and security cooperation, the ASEAN
ministers:

-- recognized the increasingly central role of ASEAN in
maintaining regional peace and stability and underlined their
commitment to work with the group's dialogue partners and other
members of the ASEAN Regional Forum

-- called on nuclear weapon states to accede to the protocol
of the Southeast Asia Weapon Free Zone Treaty signed in 1995
while extending the mandate of a senior officials working group
to pursue consultations

-- emphasized that cooperation between ASEAN and its dialogue
partners must be conducted on the basis of equality, mutual
respect and mutual benefit

-- expressed hope that the ASEAN Regional Forum would move
from confidence building to preventive diplomacy, welcoming
increased interest by defense agencies in discussing security
issues while underlining the importance of maintaining an
evolutionary approach and taking decisions by consensus

Cambodia

On Cambodia, regional and international issues, the ministers:

-- agreed to continue their efforts to help Cambodia find a
peaceful solution to the situation in the country, stressing
ASEAN's commitment to the principle of non-interference of the
internal affairs of other countries

-- recalled and reiterated their statements dated 8th and 10th
July 1997 on the situation in Cambodia.

-- took note of the new position expressed by Ung Huot, the
Foreign Minister of the Royal Government of Cambodia, on behalf
of Second Prime Minister Hun Sen, that Cambodia welcomes ASEAN's
role in helping to restore political stability in the country.

-- agreed that, upon reconfirmation of this new position, the
ASEAN Ministerial delegation comprising the Minister for Foreign
Affairs of Indonesia, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the
Philippines and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand would
continue with its efforts to assist Cambodia to find a peaceful
resolution of the situation in that country.

-- stressed ASEAN's commitment to the principle of non
interference in the internal affairs of other countries. They
noted that ASEAN had offered its good offices to Cambodia in the
light of the recent unfortunate developments and in view of
Cambodia's interest in joining ASEAN.

-- expressed the hope that the situation in the country would
return to normalcy and that a solution could be found in the
spirit of the Paris Peace Accords.

-- expressed regret that Cambodia could not be admitted into
ASEAN at this stage due to the present circumstances in the
country, while reaffirming that Cambodia's Observer status at the
AMM remains unchanged.

-- expressed the hope that a peaceful solution would soon be
found so that Cambodia would be able to join ASEAN and fulfill
the vision of an ASEAN community of 10 as envisaged by the
Founding Fathers of ASEAN.

-- emphasized that several issues in the South China Sea
remain a source of concern and highlighted the importance of
exercising restraint

-- welcomed recent developments on proposed four-party talks
on the Korean peninsula, expressing hope for a permanent peace
and calling on the international community to help alleviate
North Korea's severe food crisis

-- welcomed the return of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty,
expressing the hope that links with ASEAN would be maintained and
continue to expand

-- viewed with deep concern the current deadlock in the Middle
East peace process, demanding that Israel "take steps for the
immediate and full cessation" of the construction of a new
settlement south of Jerusalem

-- called upon all parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina to fully
implement the Dayton Peace Agreement, deploring the fact that
many indicted war criminals had still not been apprehended

-- reaffirmed that the Non-Aligned Movement remained valid and
relevant under current circumstances, emphasizing its importance
as a cohesive force and a major forum for consultations among
developing countries

-- emphasized that additional permanent members of the UN
Security Council should include developing regions of Asia,
Africa and Latin America along with industrialized countries,
enjoying the same rights as current permanent members with the
use of veto curtailed and eventually eliminated

-- called for the start of negotiations on a phased program to
eliminate nuclear weapons, emphasizing the importance of the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and calling on all states to
fulfill their obligations

Economic

In the area of economic cooperation, the ASEAN foreign
ministers

-- noted that nearly 91 percent of all tariff lines had been
included in the common effective preferential tariff scheme for
the ASEAN Free Trade Area by the fifth year of implementation
ahead of the 2003 deadline

-- emphasized the need to eliminate non-tariff barriers

-- reiterated their commitment to open regionalism and a rule-
based multilateral trading system

-- expressed satisfaction with progress achieved in other
areas such as intellectual property, industry, services,
transport and communications, minerals and energy and finance and
banking

-- applauded intensified cooperation in investment including
progress in an action plan on foreign direct investment and
intra-ASEAN investment

-- appreciated concrete steps to develop the ASEAN-Mekong
Basin Development Cooperation Framework

-- strongly affirmed their commitment to the Singapore
ministerial conference of the WTO and fully implementing the
Uruguay Round

-- expressed concern over the emerging trend in countries
outside the region to impose trade sanctions on the basis of
alleged human rights violations and non-trade related issues

-- reiterated full support for Vietnam's admission to the WTO

-- attached high priority to a high-level meeting of least-
developed countries in Geneva in October

-- expressed serious concerns over well coordinated efforts to
stabilize ASEAN currencies, calling for further intensification
of cooperation to safeguard and promote ASEAN's interests

-- expressed the hope that the proposed East Asian Economic
Caucus would soon be "formally instituted" for the benefit of its
members

-- lauded efforts by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) forum in forging meaningful liberalization undertakings
and economic cooperation

-- expressed the hope that APEC's framework for economic
development cooperation year could generate focussed and measured
outcomes

-- reiterated their full support for Vietnam's admission to
APEC

-- agreed to support an early elaboration of an Asia-Europe
Cooperation Framework and expressed pleasure at the growing
number of Asia-Europe initiatives

-- expressed support for a Singapore-based Asia-Europe
Foundation launched in February and a proposed Asia-Europe Vision
Group next year while welcoming initiatives to bring the public
and private sectors together.

Cooperation

In the field of functional cooperation, the ministers:

-- called for advanced development of flagship projects in
such areas as science and technology, environment, culture and
information, social development and drugs and narcotics control

-- agreed to launch an ASEAN Award for individuals and
organizations, to be conferred every three years at ASEAN summits
starting next year

-- stressed the need to protect biological diversity and
natural resources, supporting efforts to set up an ASEAN Regional
Center for Biodiversity Conservation in the Philippines this year

-- urged that new approaches in science and technology
cooperation be intensified including the development of
indigenous capabilities and greater collaboration between the
public and private sectors

-- encouraged special emphasis to be given to youth in
developing information networks and studies to develop an ASEAN
satellite channel.

-- welcomed the WTO agreement on core labor standards
recognizing the International Labor Organization as the competent
body dealing with such standards, reiterating that trade access
not be linked to worker conditions or the level of implementation
of labor standards

In other areas, the ASEAN ministers:

-- called on ASEAN's dialog partners to accord equal priority
to trade, investment, market access, technology transfer, science
and technology, culture and information, environment and social
development, stressing the need for further cooperation in
combating terrorism, trafficking of people, illicit drugs and
arms, piracy and communicable diseases.

-- stressed the need for additional funding to finance
increased development assistance in the wake of new members being
admitted

-- noted meetings with China, India and Russia as new dialogue
partners and the establishment of sectoral dialogue relations
with Pakistan

-- called for strengthened ties with other regional
organizations including the Economic Cooperation Organization
(ECHO), the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) the Central American
States, the Rio Group and the South Pacific Forum.