US, ASEAN set to forge real cooperation

ASEAN is a step closer to finalizing the ASEAN-US Plan of Action on bilateral cooperation, while encouraging Russia to become a party to a nuclear weapons-free zone treaty as permanent representatives concluded a meeting.

In line with the 44th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) and the Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC), Indonesia’s permanent representative to ASEAN, Ngurah Swajaya, said Saturday that permanent representatives had completed work on most of the 2011-2015 Plan of Action and expected it to be endorsed during the ASEAN-US meeting next Friday.

“There is only one paragraph left to which we expect a response from the US,” he said after a Committee
of Permanent Representatives’ (CPR) meeting.

The Plan of Action was signed on July 27, 2006, in Kuala Lumpur in an effort to enhance and strengthen ASEAN-US relations, the ASEAN official website states.

Under the Plan of Action, the US would provide ASEAN with development assistance through notional funding of US$150 million to support ASEAN integration goals and objectives up to 2015, the website read.

Several programs that have been identified and implemented include the ASEAN-US technical
assistance and training facility (TATF) Phase II, the Lao-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA)/WTO accession program, the ASEAN Single Window program and regional supply chain/competitiveness program.

“The Plan of Action lists numerous cooperative programs, including efforts to mitigate transnational crimes, terrorism and people trafficking, disaster management, emergency response, humanitarian assistance and capacity-building programs to improve democracy and human rights,” Ngurah said.

In addition to the Plan of Action, he said delegates to the CPR meeting also discussed an ASEAN-Russia joint statement to commemorate the 15th anniversary of ASEAN relations with Russia.

“There will be steps that Russia should carry out for accession to the SEANWFZ [Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone] Treaty, along with four other nuclear weapon states,” he said, referring to the US, UK, China and France. ASEAN has also persuaded the US to become party to the treaty.

The SEANWFZ Treaty was signed by 10 ASEAN leaders in Bangkok on Dec. 15, 1995. Signatory countries must ensure they would not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against any party to the treaty and not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons within the SEANWFZ.

Indonesian Foreign Ministry director for ASEAN political and security cooperation, Ade Padmo Sarwono, earlier said each of the five nuclear states had their own objections to the treaty, but it was believed that they refused
to sign largely due to US and French objections over the unequivocal nature of security assurances and the definitions of territory, including exclusive economic zones (EEZ).

The treaty zone covers the territories, continental shelves and EEZs of party states within the zone.

China in particular objected to the treaty’s inclusion of the Southeast Asian signatories’ continental shelves and EEZs, arguing that this prejudiced its own extensive claims in the South China Sea.

Ngurah said CPR delegates also drafted terms of reference for the establishment of a future East Asia vision group that comprises the 10 ASEAN member states plus three (Japan, China and South Korea) and is expected to work on an East Asia free trade agreement, cooperation on transnational crimes and disaster management.

— JP/Mustaqim Adamrah