The 12th ASEAN Plus Three Summit chaired by H.E. Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, was convened on 24 October 2009 in Cha-am Hua Hin, Thailand. The Summit was attended by Heads of State/Government of ASEAN Member States, the People’s Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea.
We reaffirmed our support for a peaceful and comprehensive solution on the issues of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the humanitarian concerns of the international community through diplomatic channels and cooperation among all the parties concerned. We reiterated our full support for an early resumption of the Six-Party Talks to facilitate long-term peace and stability in the region. We also reaffirmed our commitment to implement the provisions of the relevant UNSC resolutions and urged the DPRK to fully comply with them.
We encouraged the Myanmar Government to ensure the implementation of the Seven-Step Roadmap to Democracy. We also continued to support the on-going good offices of the United Nations Secretary-General in the democratization process in Myanmar. We welcomed the affirmation by the Prime Minister of Myanmar that the General Elections to be held in 2010 would be conducted in a free, fair and inclusive manner.
We noted the convening of the 2nd China-Japan-ROK Trilateral Summit in Beijing on 10 October 2009 as a positive development for East Asia cooperation. The ASEAN Leaders appreciated the Plus Three countries’ firm commitment to enhance their cooperation with ASEAN and to support ASEAN as the driving force for cooperation in East Asia.
We welcomed the outcome of the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh on 24-25 September 2009. We reiterated our support to the efforts to enhance macroeconomic coordination, restore growth and jobs, resist protectionism, and reform the international financial system and institutions. We also supported the need to reach an ambitious and balanced conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda.
We reiterated our commitment to work together to implement the Joint Press Statement on ASEAN+3 Cooperation in Response to the Global Economic and Financial Crisis issued by Thailand, as the ASEAN Chair and the ASEAN Plus Three Coordinator, on behalf of the ASEAN Plus Three Leaders, on 3 June 2009.
We supported boosting tourism in the East Asian region that would increase our economic growth by 1-2%. We also committed ourselves to provide a conducive environment for the participation of our private sectors in the revitalization of our economies.
We noted the Action Plan to Restore Economic and Financial Stability of the Asian Region submitted by the ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers who met at their Special Meeting in Phuket in February 2009. We endorsed the agreement reached at the 12th ASEAN Plus Three Finance Ministers’ Meeting on 3 May 2009 in Bali to implement the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM) with the total size of US$ 120 billion by the end of 2009 and to set up an independent regional surveillance unit. We welcomed Thailand’s offer to temporarily host such unit. We also welcomed the agreement to establish the Credit Guarantee and Investment Mechanism (CGIM) with an initial capital of US$ 500 million under the Asian Bond Markets Initiative (ABMI) to support the local currency-denominated corporate bond in our region. We welcomed China’s contribution of US$ 200 million to the CGIM.
We reiterated our commitment to ensure food and energy security for our people as a matter of high priority in accordance with Cha-am Hua Hin Statement on ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation on Food Security and Bio- Energy Development adopted at this Summit. We urged all relevant ASEAN Plus Three sectoral bodies to implement this Statement.
We expressed our commitment to work closely together to ensure a successful outcome of the Copenhagen Conference in December 2009 that should incorporate long-term cooperative actions to address climate change in accordance with the principles and provisions of the UNFCCC and the Bali Action Plan.
We expressed our condolences for the tragic loss of life and suffering caused by recent natural disasters in the region. With the increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters, we recognized that there is a need to develop a permanent regional emergency rice reserve. We noted progress in the East Asia Emergency Rice Reserve (EAERR) Pilot Project, which will expire on 28 February 2010. We welcomed the efforts to transform the EAERR into a mechanism under the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR). We urged our Agriculture and Forestry Ministers who will meet in Brunei Darussalam in November 2009 to work towards the early realization of APTERR in order to ensure the continuation of regional food security mechanism after the expiration of the EAERR Pilot Project.
We noted the progress of ASEAN Plus Three energy cooperation, especially the development of the Oil Stockpiling Roadmap, the finalization of the 2nd ASEAN+3 Energy Outlook, the reactivation of the ASEAN+3 Energy Communication System, and the enhancement of the Joint Oil Data Initiative. We also welcomed initiatives and activities to promote cooperation on civilian nuclear energy. We noted the convening of the 2nd ASEAN Plus Three Forum on Nuclear Energy Safety in China in June 2009 and the ROK’s proposal for cooperation on civilian nuclear energy.
We noted the final report of the Phase II feasibility study of the East Asia Free Trade Area (EAFTA) and welcomed the decision of 12th AEM Plus Three Consultations in Bangkok on 15 August 2009 to task the Senior Economic Officials to discuss and consider the recommendations in the Phase I and II reports. EAFTA and Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia (CEPEA) could be examined and considered in parallel.
We urged our Public Health Ministers to redouble their efforts to implement collective measures and joint actions agreed at the ASEAN Plus Three Health Ministers Special Meeting on Influenza A(H1N1) on 8 May 2009 in Bangkok. We noted the progress of ASEAN Plus Three Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) Programme Phase II, which helps strengthen closer cooperation in preparing for future threats of disease outbreaks.
We noted the policy recommendations of the 6th Meeting of the Network of East Asian Think Tanks (NEAT) in Bali on 24-25 August 2008 contained in No.5 and those of the 7th Meeting of NEAT in Seoul on 31 August-1 September 2009 contained in Memorandum No.6. We appreciated contribution of NEAT as a Track II body of the ASEAN Plus Three process to East Asia community-building and encouraged relevant ASEAN Plus Three sectoral bodies to look into NEAT’s policy recommendations. We noted the convening of the 7th East Asia Forum (EAF) in Seoul on 2 September 2009 and its policy recommendations.
We noted the progress report on the implementation of the 2nd Joint Statement on East Asia Cooperation and the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Work Plan (2007-2017). We urged all relevant ASEAN Plus Three sectoral bodies to accelerate the implementation of the Work Plan and encouraged the ASEAN Plus Three countries to volunteer to be a lead shepherd in areas of cooperation in which they are interested or have the capacity to contribute to.
We welcomed Thailand’s initiative to be a lead shepherd on education. We tasked our relevant Ministers and officials to consider the Plan of Action for Education prepared by Thailand and welcomed Thailand’s offer to hold an ASEAN Plus Three Senior Officials Meeting on Education in November 2009 in Bangkok. We also welcomed China’s initiative to be the lead shepherd on economic and trade cooperation, Japan’s initiative to be the lead shepherd on disaster management and the ROK’s initiative to be the lead shepherd on financial cooperation. We tasked our relevant officials to discuss ways to implement those initiatives in line with the ASEAN Charter.
We noted that the role and responsibility of the ASEAN Directors-General related to external relations would be transferred to ASEAN’s Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR). As a result, the role and responsibility of the ASEAN Plus Three Directors-General Meeting as a monitoring and coordinating body of the ASEAN Plus Three Process will also be transferred to the CPR and the Ambassadors of China, Japan, and the ROK to ASEAN.
We welcomed the concrete proposals and progresses raised by the ASEAN Plus Three Leaders as follows:
3rd ASEAN Plus Three Media Cooperation Forum in Beijing in April 2010, ASEAN Plus Three Workshop on Urban Disaster Response Management in China in May 2010, and ASEAN Plus Three Seminar on Promoting Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Beijing in June 2010.
Japan’s new initiative to hold international conferences on disaster management and on university exchange in the East Asian region.
ASEAN Plus Three Senior Diplomatic Course in Indonesia in October 2009 and proposal to organize the Promotion of Indonesian Language for ASEAN Plus Three Diplomats in October-November 2009.
Preparation for establishing the ASEAN Plus Three Center for the Gifted in Science in the ROK in 2011 and the continuation of projects for ICT Cooperation towards co-prosperity in the East Asia conducted by the ROK.
ASEAN Plus Three Higher Education Policy Dialogue in March 2009 in Phuket with a recommendation to establish an ASEAN Plus Three University Network and the East Asia Youth Leadership Forum in 2008 in Bangkok with the Voice of Youths on East Asia Community Building.
We reaffirmed our commitment to the ASEAN Plus Three process as a main vehicle towards the long-term goal of building an East Asian community with ASEAN as the driving force. We noted Japan’s aspiration to reinvigorate the discussion towards building an East Asian community based on the principle of openness, transparency and inclusiveness and functional cooperation.
The Leaders of the Plus Three countries reiterated their firm support for ASEAN community-building and welcomed the signing of the Cha-am Hua Hin Declaration on a Roadmap to an ASEAN Community at the 14th ASEAN Summit on 1 March 2009. They also welcomed the progress made in implementing the ASEAN Charter at the 15th ASEAN Summit on 23 October 2009 in Cha-am Hua Hin, in particular, the establishment of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights.
We supported the ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on ASEAN Connectivity issued on 24 October 2009, and shared a common view that enhanced ASEAN connectivity would benefit the East Asian region as a whole. Recognizing that connectivity would help catalyze regional integration, we supported enhanced linkages both within ASEAN, and between ASEAN and its Plus Three partners. In this regard, we welcomed ASEAN’s effort to develop an ASEAN Master Plan on regional connectivity and an infrastructure development fund for ASEAN and expressed our support in these efforts.
