Your Excellency NGUYEN MANH CAM,
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam
Your Royal Highness and Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Almost thirty-two years ago in Bangkok, the Foreign Ministers of the five Southeast Asian countries founded an Association that was open to the participation of all states in Southeast Asia. The Philippines, together with Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, envisaged an ASEAN composed of all ten nations in the region, bound together in friendship and cooperation.

Today, that vision has been fully realized. We welcome Cambodia with open arms as the newest member of ASEAN. ASEAN 10 is finally upon us.

Now that Cambodia is within the ASEAN fold, it is incumbent upon the old and new members of ASEAN, especially among its present and future leaders, to fulfill the second part of the vision of the Founding Fathers of ASEAN. That second part is: "through joint efforts and sacrifices, secure for their peoples and for their posterity the blessings of peace, freedom and prosperity." This is an aspiration that was valid in 1967 as it is today and will be in the future.

ASEAN is gratified that, with the acquiescence of the Royal Cambodian Government, it has contributed to the political process in Cambodia. Through the ASEAN Troika, the Association was able to keep itself engaged and helpful in the efforts to restore political stability in Cambodia.

A new government has been installed in Phnom Penh. We in ASEAN, and I am sure the international community as well, are of the earnest hope that a new era of governance has been ushered in Cambodia, which will foster and promote peace, stability and genuine national reconciliation. The recent establishment of a Senate can only reflect a sincere commitment to the attainment of that goal.

While the vision to create a Southeast Asian community of nations has at last been fulfilled, the task of consolidating ASEAN is far from completed. Regionalism is a continuous process of evolution. The ASEAN Vision 2020 issued by our leaders in Kuala Lumpur in December 1997 has defined for us the task that lies ahead. The Vision 2020 tells us:

• We must foster a strong sense of community.

• We must build a collective will and build upon the achievements of the past 31 years.

• We must consolidate and strengthen ASEAN solidarity, cohesion and harmony to advance the convergence of our region.

• Above all, our countries must be at peace within themselves and with the world at large by eliminating causes for conflict and through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law and through the strengthening of national and regional resilience.

It is through compliance with these guidelines and by being true to ourselves that we can have a concert of Southeast Asian nations as envisioned in ASEAN Vision 2020.

For our part, the Philippines is offering a helping hand to facilitate Cambodia's integration into ASEAN. By the same token, we have high expectations that Cambodia will live up to its commitments as well as responsibilities as a full-pledged member of the Association.

Finally, I would like to convey an important message from the Filipino people. This is clearly reflected in today's editorial of "The Nation," a well-known English language newspaper in Thailand.

The title of the editorial is "ASEAN-10:need to be more people oriented."

The relevant part of the editorial reads: "In one sense the Asian economic crisis is a blessing for ASEAN. It has forced the group to accept sea-changes beyond their frontiers. To survive ASEAN has to be a more open, democratic and people based organization ..."

It is on this note that we extend the hand of friendship and fraternity to our Cambodian brothers.