The year 1999 will be remembered as the time when the vision of ASEAN's founders to build an association comprising all ten Southeast Asian countries was fully realized. The admission of Cambodia into ASEAN at a special ceremony held on 30 April 1999 in Hanoi marked the culmination of ASEAN's efforts to achieve regional cohesion. ASEAN will now have the task of ensuring the smooth integration of its new members. The ASEAN region now has a total population of about 500 million, a total area of 4.5 million square kilometers, a combined gross domestic product of US$ 735 billion, and total trade of US$ 720 billion.

The signing of the Second Protocol amending the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia by the High Contracting Parties at the 31st ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Manila on 25 July 1998 would enable non-Southeast Asian countries to accede to the TAC. Thus far, Brunei Darussalam, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam have ratified the Second Protocol.

In anticipation of the entry into force of the Second Protocol, ASEAN has invited all the ASEAN Dialogue Partners to accede to the TAC. The ASEAN Senior Officials Working Group on ZOPFAN and SEANWFZ began the process of consultations with all ASEAN Dialogue Partners to address their queries and concerns with a view to facilitating their accession to the TAC. In the meantime, the Dialogue Partners have been encouraged to express their intention to support the TAC as a contribution to regional peace and stability.

The ASEAN Senior Officials Working Group on ZOPFAN and SEANWFZ continued its consultations with the Nuclear Weapon States with a view to obtaining their support for the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone by signing its Protocol. The major subjects of consultations remain the zone of application of the Treaty and the provision concerning negative security assurances. The basic undertakings of the Treaty States and their implications for port visits of foreign ships and aircraft have also remained a concern of the Nuclear Weapon States.

The States Parties to the Treaty have agreed to convene the Commission for the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone in Singapore in July 1999. Following its convening, the Commission will oversee the implementation of the Treaty and ensure compliance with its provisions through the Executive Committee.

ASEAN continued to play a primary role in the ASEAN Regional Forum. The ARF has continued to develop as an important multilateral forum for political and security consultations and cooperation. The ARF process had played a positive role in enhancing mutual understanding and trust, promoting greater transparency, as well as strengthening the commitment among participants to maintain peace and stability in the region. During the 1998-1999 inter-sessional year, several activities were held, such as the meetings of the ARF Inter-Sessional Support Group on Confidence-Building Measures in Honolulu on 4-6 November 1998 and in Bangkok on 3-5 March 1999. An Inter-Sessional Meeting on Disaster Relief convened in Moscow on 11-14 April 1999. An ARF Track II Conference on Comprehensive Security and Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific took place in Vladivostok from 25 to 28 April 1999 and a Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific (CSCAP) Seminar on Preventive Diplomacy was held in Bangkok from 28 February to 2 March 1999.

Now in its fifth year, the ARF has started to explore activities where there is overlap between confidence-building measures and preventive diplomacy.

With a view to advancing the ARF process and maintaining ASEAN's position as its driving force, ASEAN undertook an internal review of the progress of the ARF. The issues addressed included organizational matters, such as the need for a secretariat/depository of documents, implementation of projects, additional participation in the ARF, subjects for discussion, the role of ASEAN, the pace of the ARF process, the move towards preventive diplomacy, and the future direction of the ARF. ASEAN has agreed that the ASEAN Secretariat should provide technical and secretarial support as required by the ARF Chair, monitor and follow up ARF activities, and serve as a repository of all ARF documents.

The Sixth ASEAN Summit was held in Hanoi on 15-16 December 1998. With the theme of "Unity and Cooperation for an ASEAN of Peace, Stability and Equitable Development", the ASEAN Leaders adopted the Hanoi Declaration, which outlined ASEAN's policy directions and priorities in the light of the current regional situation. The Summit also issued a Statement on Bold Measures, which prescribed specific regional and national measures to further promote investment in ASEAN economies, particularly in the next two years.

The Sixth Summit adopted the Hanoi Plan of Action (HPA) - the first of a series of plans of action to ensure the realization of the ASEAN Vision 2020 that was adopted by the ASEAN Leaders in December 1997. Specifically, the HPA aims to (a) strengthen macroeconomic and financial cooperation; (b) enhance greater economic integration; (c) promote science and technology development and develop information technology and infrastructure; (d) promote social development and address the social impact of the financial and economic crisis; (e) promote human resource development; (f) protect the environment and promote sustainable development; (g) strengthen regional peace and security; (h) enhance ASEAN's role as an effective force for peace, justice, and moderation in the Asia-Pacific and in the world; (i) promote ASEAN awareness and its standing in the international community and (j) improve ASEAN's structures and mechanisms.

With a view to encouraging pacific settlement of disputes in the region, the HPA mandated the drafting of the rules of procedure for the High Council as provided for in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. The ASEAN Senior Officials Working Group has commenced work on this matter.

At the Sixth ASEAN Summit, the ASEAN Heads of State and Government reaffirmed their determination to strengthen their ties with other countries. In particular, the challenges brought about by the economic situation in the region had served to highlight the interdependence between the countries of East Asia. With this in mind, the ASEAN Heads of State and Government held, for the second time, individual (ASEAN+1) and collective (ASEAN+3) meetings in Hanoi with their counterparts from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. The leaders agreed that such meetings would continue on the occasion of ASEAN Summits, either formal or informal.

The leaders followed up on their first such discussions which were held in Kuala Lumpur in December 1997, particularly on cooperation to deal with the economic situation and on a framework for cooperation between Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia into the 21st Century. Exchanges within the framework of ASEAN+3, at the Summit, ministerial and officials levels, and among academics and business representatives, will build on this interdependence in the search for sustained dialogue and cooperation.

ASEAN Foreign Ministers and Senior Officials have continued to hold political and security consultations with other countries and regional groupings. Such consultations have promoted greater understanding and mutual confidence. The Second ASEAN-India Senior Officials Meeting took place in Singapore on 25 February 1999. The Fifth ASEAN-China Senior Officials Consultations were held in Kunming on 5-8 April 1999. The 13th ASEAN-European Union Foreign Ministers Meeting, scheduled on 30 March 1999 in Berlin, was postponed because of EU's current visa policy, which prevented the participation of an ASEAN member country.

On 11-12 September 1998, the ASEAN Secretariat and UNESCO jointly organized a Regional Symposium on Cooperative Peace in Southeast Asia, which was held within the framework of UNESCO's Culture of Peace Programme. The Regional Symposium adopted a Statement on Peace in Southeast Asia on the Eve of the Third Millennium, which called on all countries to mobilize all concerned institutions and key social actors to foster a culture of peace, in particular on the occasion of the year 2000, proclaimed International Year for the Culture of Peace by the United Nations General Assembly.