Committee on Transport and Communications
AT THE TENTH AEM Meeting held in Bangkok
on 24-25 October 1980, the following eight new
proposals/projects of the Committee on Transport
and Communitations were approved:
(i) Establishment of an ASEAN Unit or Team
of Shipping Experts in ESCAP's Division for
Shipping, Ports and Inland Water-ways;
(ii) UNCTAD Convention of Multimodal Transport;
(iii) Increasing Utilization of Shipping Capacity;
(iv) A Study on Measures for Saving of Fuel and
Other Costs on Inter-Island, Inter-Archipelagic
and Inter-ASEAN Vessels;
(v) A Study on More Effective Tie Up of
Inter-Island Liner Services with Inter-Archipelagic
and Inter-ASEAN Group of Shipping Services in ASEAN;
(vi) A Regional Training Course in Interpretation,
Analysis and Use of Meteorological
Satellite Data Data;
(vii) Regional Training in Digital Switching and
Use of Computers in Telecommunications;
(Viii) Senior Postal Management Training and Advisory
Services in Mechanization and the
introduction of Culler Facer Cancellor Machine
Post Codes and Sorting Machines.
At the Eighth Meeting of COTAC in Penang,
Malaysia, on 23-24 March 1981, __two further
proposals/projects were adopted and subsequently
endorsed by the Eleventh AEM Meeting on
29-30 May 1981 in Jakarta. These projects were:
(i) ASEAN Port Authorities Association
(APAA) on Personnel and Information Exchange Programme;
(ii) ESCAP Project on Port Clearance Procedures
and Island Transport Systems.
As of 24 March 1981 COTAC had 82 ongoing
and 25 recurring projects, making a total of 107
current projects. Twelve projects had been completed.
Land Transportation
Progress has been made in harmonizing the
land transportation systems of the various member
countries and to standardize various usages
and regulations in order to facilitate the intra-ASEAN
movement of people and goods. An
Agreement on the reciprocal recognition of domestic
licences issued b ASEAN countries is being
finalized for formalisation by the Foreign Ministers.
Posts and Telecommunications
With regard to the Submarine Cable Project, the
second segment of the cable network between
Indonesia and Singapore was inaugurated as
scheduled on 8 August 1980. With regard to the
third and fourth segments between Malaysia-Singapore and
Malaysia-Thailand, the Memorandum of
Understanding between the three countries was
signed in January 1981 and bids for the project
are currently being assessed. Implementation of
the last segment between the Philippines and
Thailand have been postponed indefinitely.
Shipping and Ports
Pursuant to the observation of the Tenth AEM
Meeting on the importance of shipping to
ASEAN member countries and the need to
conduct a study of the problems faced by
ASEAN in terms of sea communication between
ASEAN countries and within each ASEAN country
relative to ASEAN sea communication with
other countries, a project brief had been drawn
up. It was proposed that SEATAC carry out and
manage the study.
COTAC is also in the process of implementing
the ASEAN Transport and Communications Study (ATCS)
as agreed by the Tenth AEM Meeting.
To underline the importance of shipping, the
Eleventh AEM Meeting reaffirmed the Resolution
on Shipping and Trade that had been adopted by
the Tenth AEM Meeting as part of its adoption
of the Report of the Seventh COTAC Meeting,
and, in this connection directed COTAC to study
the feasibility of setting up a regular ASEAN
Liner Service.
Civil Aviation
With regard to the ASEAN-United Kingdom
Discussions on the participation of ASEAN Air-
lines in the Australia-United Kingdom Low Fare
Scheme, ASEAN reiterated its position as follows:
(i) ASEAN Airlines' participation in the carriage
of end-to Australia-UK traffic at APEX
Fares without any restriction; and
(ii) The provision of a stopover facility for one
stopover at an ASEAN port on the APEX
round trip UK-Australia route at a surcharge
of A$ 150 without restriction.
This ASEAN position was unacceptable to the
UK, which proposed, as an alternative, a new
Single Stopover Fare available to all ASEAN
airlines without restriction. Discussion on this
Stopover Fare centered on its differential with The
Super-Apex Fare. The UK insisted on a differential
of pound sterling 100 while ASEAN wanted
pound sterling 75. As both sides maintained their
positions, the talks reached a deadlock.
The Eighth COTAC Meeting, after considering
the negotiations held so far, agreed to try and
settle the issue by having a tripartite meeting
among ASEAN/Australia/UK. It was decided that
a Special Civil Aviation Officials' Meeting be
convened to study the above recommendations in
depth for presentation to the AEM.
On 12 May 198 1, ASEAN was presented with an
Australia-United Kingdom Memorandum which
substantially fulfilled ASEAN's position vis-a-vis
unrestricted access for ASEAN airlines in the
Australia-United Kingdom Super APEX Fare as
well as the provision of a stopover facility. The
Special Meeting of ASEAN Civil Aviation Officials
held on 20 May 1981 therefore recommended
that this Australia-UK Package be accepted and
the Eleventh AEM Meeting endorsed it accordingly.
The Package came into effect on I June 1981.
For more information, please refer to the project details
