Committee on Transportation
and Communications
The Eleventh Meeting of the Committee on
Transport and Communications (COTAC) was held
in Genting Highlands, Malaysia, on 1-3 September
1982 and the Twelfth Meeting in Johore Baharu,
Malaysia, on 12-14 April 1983. In addition, a
special meeting of COTAC was held in Singapore
on 8-9 November 1982, immediately preceding the
Fourteenth AEM Meeting, to take up urgent
matters in the field of civil aviation.
1982-1983 saw the emergence of various
international issues, especially in civil aviation,
which further underlined the need for joint
ASEAN approaches to such issues. ASEAN's
resolve in these areas has enhanced both its
internal cohesion and its international standing.
Integrated Work Programmes (IWP) were
formulated by each relevant COTAC Sub-Committee
in the areas of Land Transportation, Post
and Telecommunications and Civil Aviation and
Related Services by the end of 1982. These follow
the pattern of the Integrated Work Programme on
Shipping, (IWPS) with priority areas identified and
implemented over a specific time frame. The
various Work Programmes were consolidated into
an ASEAN Integrated Work Programme in Transportation
and Communication (IWPTC) covering
the period 1982-1986. As of May 1983, only
twelve of COTAC's previous list of projects had
not been incorporated into any specific IWP. These
are projects which involve more than one mode of
transport.
Shipping and Ports
Further progress was made in the implementation
of the IWPS which covers a gamut of projects
and activities in diverse fields of standardisations,
joint training programmes, sharing of
information, exchange of personnel, negotiation of
agreements, formulation of rules and procedures
such as for handling dangerous goods, etc, studies
on various aspects of port operation, pollution
control, safety, joint approaches to international
shipping issues, etc. On the basis of efforts made
and experiences gained in implementing the IWPS,
various projects were withdrawn and new projects
introduced. Projects withdrawn included the
project on "Joint Effort in the Procurement of
Ships, Equipment and Spare Parts", the Ship
Financing Project, the "Assistance for Standardisation
of Curriculum in National Maritime Training
Academies and Schools" Project and other projects
to be implemented by the International
Maritime Organisation (I MO). New projects
include;
(a) Short courses, seminars and study tours in the
safety aspects of practical shipbuildig and ship
repair;
(b) Training scheme on patrolling and finger
printing techniques, as well as in areas of remote
sensing required for a surveillance programme a discharge
of bilge water and ballasts
(c) Assistance in organising a data bank on
pollution from ships.
With regard to the proposed establishment of
an ASEAN Liner Service, it is expected that a preliminary
report on its feasibility would be prepared
by the Southeast Asian Agency for Regional Transport
and Communication (SEATAC) for presentation
at the Fifteenth Meeting of the AEM
scheduled for September 1983.
Land Transportation
The Integrated Work Programme in Land
Transportation is made up of five sectoral
programmes as follows: General Land Transportation
Development and Institution; Development of
Roads, Road Transport; Development of Rail
Transport; Development of Inland Waterways and
Ferry Links; and Cooperation of international
Land Transport Issues. The general aim of the 17
projects and activities failing under the first four
programme areas is the improvement and
harmonisation of inland transportation systems in
the various member countries and the standardisation
of national usages and regulations in order to
facilitate the intra-ASEAN movement of people
and goods.
In the year under review, satisfactory progress
has been made in the implementation of the
Integrated Work Programme. The final signing of
the proposed Agreement on the Recognition of
Domestic Driving Licences issued by ASEAN
member countries is awaiting necessary legislative
actions in some member countries.
Civil Aviation
The Integrated Work Programme in Civil
Aviation and Related Services (IWPCARS) was
formulated at the Sub-Committee's Fifth Meeting
in October 1982. Under the IWPCARS, the 12
projects/activities in this area have been grouped
under two sectoral programme areas, viz: General
Civil Aviation and Related Services Development;
and Development of Air Transportation.
With regard to ASEAN participatory rights on
international routes, ASEAN once again forged a
common stand in relation to the Federal Republic
of Germany, whose international civil aviation
policy has, since mid - 1981, caused ASEAN
member countries increasing concern. This matter
was consequently taken up at the Eleventh COTAC
Meeting where it was agreed that ASEAN
collectively negotiate with Germany its participation
in the German civil aviation market on the
basis of the anti-ICAP principles previously used in
similar negotiations with Australia. This includes
non-discrimination, overt or otherwise, against
ASEAN carriers and realistic fare structures to
ASEAN countries. ASEAN Airlines have held
several meetings with the German national carrier,
Lufthansa, and it is hoped that a satisfactory
solution along the lines of that achieved with
Australia and the U.K., would soon be achieved.
COTAC�s attention over the past year was
also devoted to the question of air space
management in and around the Southeast Asian
region. In this regard ASEAN's position has been
that the existing airspace arrangements are in
accordance with the need for safe and efficient
flight operation taking into account the wider
interest of all relevant countries in the region.
Post and Telecommunications
The Integrated Work Programme on Post and
Telecommunication was formulated by the Sub-Committee
at its Sixth Meeting in Jakarta in
August 1982. The two sectoral programme areas
are Development of Postal Services System and
Development of Telecommunications Services
System. Of the eleven projects/activities, ten are in
Telecommunications - mainly in training, though
it includes also the on-going ASEAN Regional
Satellite Project and the ASEAN Submarine Cable
Project.
Regarding the Submarine Cable Project, while
three segments have been completed and in service,
the last segment linking Thailand and the
Philippines is still under study. Meanwhile
ASEAN's thoughts have already turned increasingly
towards how best the ASEAN submarine cable
system can be extended to other regions of the
world especially in the direction of the Indian
Ocean and towards Australia.