Heavyweights to take ASEAN to higher level

October 31, 2010 | 19:02
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A new chapter has been written in warm relations between ASEAN and China, Japan and South Korea.

At last week’s 13th ASEAN+3 Summit, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, who is the

ASEAN 2010 chair, said the ASEAN+3 process had demonstrated itself as one of the most dynamic mechanisms in fostering East Asia cooperation and served as the main vehicle towards community building in East Asia.

A summit official statement said that the leaders of ASEAN, China, Japan and South Korea agreed to undertake practical measures to effectively realise all agreements, particularly the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Work Plan, to enhance cooperation on financial-currency, trade, investment, tourism, transportation and infrastructure issues.

The sides also agreed to intensify cooperation in addressing emerging global challenges such as food and energy security, climate change, environmental degradation, natural disaster and infectious diseases.

Specifically, at the 13th ASEAN-China Summit, ASEAN member state and China leaders underscored their commitment to further strengthening the strategic partnership and comprehensive cooperation.

The two sides noted the fine achievements in implementing the 2006-2010 Plan of Action to realise the Joint Declaration on ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity and agreed to adopt the new Plan of Action for 2011-2015.

China is ASEAN’s largest trading partner, with two-way trade now amount to $200 billion per annum. Both sides agreed on the aim to boost two-way trade volumes to $500 billion and China’s investment into ASEAN to $10 billion by 2015.

ASEAN and China will also work to implement China-backed projects using support from the credit facility worth $15 billion and the ASEAN-China Investment Cooperation Fund worth $10 billion and the initiatives put forth by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao on this occasion.

The leaders also adopted the ASEAN-China leaders’ joint statement on sustainable development.

At the 13th ASEAN-South Korea Summit, ASEAN leaders welcomed South Korea’s Initiative of a new Asia in which cooperation with ASEAN is prioritised.

The leaders agreed to uplift the ASEAN-South Korea relations to a strategic partnership level with the adoption of a Joint Statement on Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity. They also adopted a plan of action for 2011-2015.

ASEAN and South Korean leaders renewed their commitment to increase two-way trade to $150 billion by 2015.

At the 13th ASEAN-Japan Summit, Dung underlined the importance of the ASEAN-Japan Strategic Partnership as one of the most crucial external relations of ASEAN.

ASEAN and Japan agreed to intensify specific actions to foster a long-lasting and strategic partnership for peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

The two sides also pledged to take more specific measures to cement trade-economic cooperation, particularly effectively implementing the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

The measures will also go to strengthen cooperation to deal with such global issues as environment, climate change, natural disasters, infectious diseases, anti-terrorism, maritime security and energy security.

By Thanh Tung

vir.com.vn

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