Ha Noi, 23 July 2010

The 43rd ASEAN  Ministerial Meeting (AMM) and Related Meetings that concluded this afternoon in Ha Noi saw discussions on the evolving regional architecture taking centre stage. ASEAN Dialogue Partners, in all the fora throughout the series of meeting this week, reaffirmed their unequivocal support for ASEAN Centrality. In addition, they expressed the hope that ASEAN would continue to play a central role in the emerging regional architecture.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, kicking off the annual meetings, had called on the region to be more proactive in recommending and undertaking measures to enhance the operational efficiency of ASEAN-led wider regional cooperation frameworks. Premier Nguyen Tan Dung was referring to the ASEAN Plus Three, the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). “The guiding principle throughout this process is to support the goal of building the ASEAN Community and ensuring the central role of the Association,” he said in his Keynote Address at the Opening Ceremony of the AMM.

Taking the cue, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers welcomed the expressed interest of the Russian Federation and the United States to join the East Asia Summit (EAS). They will now recommend to the ASEAN Leaders at the 17th ASEAN Summit in Ha Noi in October 2010 to formally make the decision on inviting the two countries to join the EAS. With this move, the Foreign Ministers reaffirmed ASEAN Centrality as well as the established objectives and principles of the EAS as a Leaders-led forum.

ASEAN Centrality was also reaffirmed in the regional security architecture when the Foreign Ministers supported the decision of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) to convene the first ADMM Plus in Ha Noi in October 2010. In their Joint Communiqué, the Foreign Ministers said that they reaffirmed the importance of the ADMM Plus as an important component of a robust, effective, open and inclusive regional security architecture. This mechanism would complement the work of the ARF and help ensure ASEAN Centrality in regional efforts to deal with security issues.

In recognition of the central role of ASEAN in the region and its constructive contributions, both the EAS and the 11th ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers’ Meeting expressed their full support for Viet Nam as the current Chair of ASEAN to participate in the forthcoming G-20 Summit in the Republic of Korea later this year. They also reiterated their strong support for the regularisation of the participation of ASEAN Chairman in future G-20 Summits.

Meanwhile, the 17th ARF Meeting reaffirmed that the ARF remained the key forum to discuss political and security issues in the region. The 27 Ministers gathered at the table supported ASEAN's role as the driving force in the ARF process and underscored the importance of the ARF in the evolving regional architecture. However, the ARF would need to become more action-oriented in addressing multi-dimensional challenges, especially the non-traditional security threats that directly impact peace and security in the region in order to maintain its relevance. The Ha Noi Plan of Action to Implement the ARF Vision Statement adopted at the Meeting aims to do this.

According to the Secretary-General of ASEAN, the reaffirmation by ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners was a clear signal that more countries appreciate ASEAN’s leading role in the regional architecture. “The week has again demonstrated our drawing power and that ASEAN can contribute,” said Dr Surin Pitsuwan.

Cooperation with ASEAN Dialogue Partners was evidently enhanced at this AMM. Both Canada and Turkey acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), signalling their commitment to strengthening cooperation with ASEAN and to peace and security in the region. A more inclusive nature of the TAC was heralded by the signing of the Third Protocol to the TAC during the week as the entry into force of the Protocol would enable regional organisations whose members are sovereign states to accede to the TAC. The Protocol would facilitate the accession of the EU/EC to the TAC. Other countries have also requested to accede to the TAC.

ASEAN’s engagement with its external partners is also expected to get a boost with the convening of several high-profile Summits in the coming one to two years and the adoption of Plans of Action. For example, the first ever ASEAN-Australia Summit and the ASEAN-New Zealand Commemorative Summit will be held back-to-back with the 17th ASEAN Summit in October 2010. The 20th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations would be marked in 2011, while the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit will be held in 2012 to mark 20 years of relations. Plans of Action with China, India and the Republic of Korea are all scheduled to be adopted at the October Summit.

Aside from the political front, the 43rd AMM also marked the successful conclusion of the mandate of the ASEAN-led post-Nargis coordination in Myanmar. The Foreign Ministers agreed to officially end the operations of the ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force (AHTF) for the Victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar by 31 July 2010. In acknowledging the importance institutionalising the experience and knowledge gained, the Foreign Ministers agreed that the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) will be established in Jakarta in the first half of 2011. The responsibility of coordinating and utilising assistance from the international community in the post-Nargis recovery efforts will now be taken over by the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement of the Government of Myanmar.