RECOGNIZED

(a) the importance of shipping and ports to the development and expansion f ASEAN trade and economy;

(b) the need to secure and maintain adequate, efficient, economic and reliable shipping and port services at stable prices;

(c) the urgency of enhancing effective cooperation among ASEAN shippers for the protection and promotion of their common interests especially in their relations which shipping conferences;

(d) the need for ASEAN merchant vessels to obtain an adequate and fair share in the carriage of ASEAN trade and

(e) the need to accelerate improvements and harmonious development of ASEAN ports;

AGREED that

(a) the expansions and modernization of ASEAN merchant fleets should be accelerated and coordinated as may be necessary and practicable in order to increase their share to parity with non ASEAN lines in the carriage of ASEAN export and import cargoes:

(b) the joint operations of ASEAN merchant ship and their eventual formation into ASEAN-based, orientated and controlled shipping conferences possibly and partnership cooperating non ASEAN shipping lines should be expedited in order to optimized utilization of their services and attain economic of scale:

(c) efforts should be made to minimize restrictive measures allowing for increased participation of ASEAN vessels in the carriage of ASEAN trade;

(d) the establishment or strengthening of national freight booking and cargo consolidation centers in each ASEAN country as operating arm of the shippers' council, and the coordination of their operations on a regional basis need to be accelerated in order to strengthen the negotiating position of ASEAN shippers' councils on freight rates and other shipping terms and ensure cooperating ASEAN and non-ASEAN lines and the ASEAN conferences to be formed, of economic voIumes of cargoes at reasonable freight rates;

(e) while the existing conference-shippers contract system could potentially be mutually advantage. ous, in practice, it has been for decades generally inequitable to ASEAN shippers and thus required substantive reforms.

(f) the establishment or strengthening of a national shippers' council in each ASEAN country, and their closer cooperation on regional basis through the Federation of ASEAN Shippers' councils, should be facilitated in order to enable them to perform effectively their function of protecting, promoting and representing shippers' interests;

(g) cooperation between the Federation of ASEAN Shippers' Councils, Federation of ASEAN Ship owners Associations and ASEAN Port Authorities' Association, on one hand, and their counterparts in other areas, on the other had, should be promoted;

(h) ASEAN Governments would be prepared to extend the necessary assistance and support as appropriate to the ASEAN shippers' councils, freight booking and cargo consolidation centers, ship-owners port authorities and other maritime interests and to generate a climate favourable for the ASEAN private sector to contribute, cooperate and coordinate, all their efforts, for expeditious attainment of regional self-reliance shipping and the smooth and economic flow of ASEAN cargoes; and

(i) the understanding and cooperation of Government and the private sectors in other countries world be desirable for the achievement of this ASEAN policy on shipping and trade;