Political and Security Dialogue

Political and security dialogue and cooperation in ASEAN continued at various levels.  While in the past most of these were held at the ministerial and senior officials levels only, the annual meeting of the ASEAN Heads of Government since 1995, either in the form of formal or informal, has provided an important venue for them to hold political dialogues.  At the Third ASEAN Informal Summit held in Manila in November 1999, there were views expressed by some ASEAN leaders that evolving regional security environment during the 1990s has given rise to new forms of security challenges for ASEAN.  Therefore, they felt that ASEAN should make its long-held principles and approaches more relevant to meet these challenges.  

In Manila, the ASEAN leaders met with their counterparts from China, Japan and the Republic Korea.  Together, the East Asian leaders issued the Joint Statement on East Asia Cooperation.  The Joint Statement provides a framework for cooperation in economic and trade, monetary and finance, social and human development, science and technology, culture and information, political and security, and transnational issues.  It was the third meeting of East Asian leaders, held annually since 1997. The leaders tasked the relevant Ministers to oversee, through existing mechanisms, particularly through their senior officials, the implementation of the Joint Statement.

The ASEAN Troika

At the third ASEAN Informal Summit in Manila in November 1999, the ASEAN leaders agreed on the establishment of an ASEAN Troika to be constituted as an ad hoc body at the ministerial level in order that ASEAN could address more effectively and cooperate more closely on issues affecting regional peace and stability.  ASEAN senior officials have been developing the concept for the consideration of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers at the 33rd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting.

Informal Retreat of Foreign Minister

An Informal Retreat of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers was held in Singapore in July 1999 to exchange views on the future direction of ASEAN, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and ASEAN's dialogue relationships.  The Ministers focused on the challenges confronting ASEAN in the new millennium.  The Ministers stressed the need for ASEAN to strengthen its capacities and capabilities to meet these challenges.  They reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen ASEAN's role as the primary driving force of the ARF process.

Treaty of Amity and Cooperation.

ASEAN is in the final stages of drafting Rules of Procedures for the High Council provided for in the 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.  The High Council, in which each High Contracting Party takes part at ministerial level, is to take cognizance of the existence of disputes or situations likely to disturb regional peace and harmony.  The Treaty will be open for accession by states outside Southeast Asia once all High Contracting Parties have ratified the Second Protocol.

Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone

The Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) has been in force for three years now.  Under the Treaty, signatory states, among others, undertake not to develop, manufacture, station, transport, test or use nuclear weapons.  The Treaty reflects ASEAN's commitment to the global efforts at controlling the proliferation of nuclear weapons, as well as other weapons of mass destruction.

ASEAN has put in place the SEANWFZ Commission and the Executive Committee of the SEANWFZ Commission to oversee the implementation and ensure compliance with the provisions of the Treaty.  The Rules of Procedure and Financial Rules that will govern the work of the various Treaty bodies will be adopted at the second meeting of the Commission for SEANWFZ in July 2000.  ASEAN is working closely with the International Atomic Energy Agency in identifying the latter's role with regard to the implementation of the Treaty.

The Treaty has a Protocol, which calls on the five Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) to respect the Treaty and not to contribute to any act, which constitutes a violation of the Treaty or its Protocol.  ASEAN's consultations with the NWS have gathered momentum in recent months and all the NWS have clarified their positions.  At the PMC 10+1 in Singapore in July 1999, China announced its readiness to accede to the Protocol.  ASEAN had called on the other NWS to exercise greater flexibility in the consultations.

South China Sea

The ASEAN-China Senior Officials Consultations Working Group on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea met in Bangkok on 15 March 2000 and in Kuala Lumpur on 26 May 2000.  A consolidated working draft covers principles and norms governing state-to-state relations, peaceful settlement of disputes, and cooperative activities. China has offered to host the next meeting of the Working Group.

ASEAN Regional Forum

The ASEAN Regional Forum has been established for six years now.  The ARF members include all the 10 ASEAN countries, the ten Dialogue Partners of ASEAN, namely Australia, Canada, China, the EU, India, Japan, ROK, New Zealand, Russia, and the US; Papua New Guinea (Observer in ASEAN); and Mongolia.  All ARF participants have endorsed the participation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, starting from the 7th ARF meeting on 27 July 2000.

The Inter-sessional Group on Confidence Building Measures co-chaired by Singapore and Japan and the Inter-sessional Meeting on Disaster Relief co-chaired by Viet Nam and Russia continued to make good progress.  The ISG on CBM, during the inter-sessional year 1999-2000, continued to explore the overlap between confidence building and preventive diplomacy.  Other activities of the ARF included the Meeting of Heads of Defense Universities, Colleges and Institutions in Ulan Bator in September 1999; ARF Professional Training Programme on China's Security Policy in Beijing in October 1999; ARF Seminar on the Law of Armed Conflict in Newcastle in December 1999; ARF Defence Language School Seminar in Melbourne in March 2000; ARF Expert Group Meeting on Transnational Crime in April 2000; and ARF Professional Development Programme in Bandar Seri Begawan in April 2000.  A Seminar on Common Approaches to Training in Disaster Relief was held in Bangkok in January 2000.  Finally, a Track II Experts Meeting on a Pacific Concord convened in Moscow in February 2000.

Pursuant to the decision of the Sixth Meeting of the ARF in July 1999 on the overlap between confidence building and preventive diplomacy, progress has been made in the implementation of the enhanced role for the ARF Chairman in liaising with external parties and promoting interaction between Track I and Track II by initiating contacts with the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP).  As Chairman of the ARF, Thailand had initiated informal contacts with the United Nations, the Organization of American States  (OAS), and the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).  It was also agreed that the ARF Chair could serve as the focal point for collating the nomination of respective ARF participant of individuals to be on the Register of Experts/Eminent Persons on the understanding that further discussion and agreement on the terms of reference was needed.  The terms of reference for the Register will be considered by the ISG-CBM in the next inter-sessional year.

The ARF has come up with the first volume of the ARF Annual Security Outlook (ASO) compiled by the ARF Chairman.  The ASO aimed at promoting confidence and transparency among the participants.  Defense officials have been involved in various ARF activities, and a separate gathering among senior defense officials was held in Bangkok in May 2000.

East Timor

ASEAN supported the implementation of the Agreement between Indonesia and Portugal on the question of East Timor and the Agreements between the United Nations and the Governments of Indonesia and Portugal of 5 May 1999 regarding the modalities for the popular consultations of the East Timorese, which were held on 30 August 1999. Some ASEAN member countries contributed to the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) and the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET).  Since 28 February 2000, the UN peacekeeping force under UNTAET has been headed by the Philippines.

The Ambassadors of ASEAN member states and the Secretary-General of ASEAN attended the briefing given by the UN High Commissioner for the Refugees at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta on 20 September 1999.  Some member states of ASEAN have been extending humanitarian and other forms of assistance to East Timor.