Cooperation in Transportation and Communication
( COTAC )
During the period under review COTAC held
its Fourteenth Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, 17 - 19
January 1985 and considered among others the.
Report of the Eighth Meeting of the Sub-Commit-
tee on Posts and Telecommunications held in Manila,
12-14 September 1984 and the Report of the
Seventh Meeting of the Sub-Committee on Civil
Aviation and Related Services held in Chiangmai,
30 November - 3 December 1984.
Posts and Telecommunications
The Eighth Meeting of the Sub-committee on
Posts and Telecommunications incorporated 3
more projects into the Integrated Work Programme
in Posts and Telecommunications (IWPTT)
namely-.
i) ASEAN - TV News Exchange Scheme,
ii) Domestic/Regional Satellite Communications;
iii) Radio Frequency Coordination in
ASEAN.
The implementation of postal projects under
the Integrated Work Programme in Posts and Telecommunications
(IWPPT) continued with vigour
throughout the review period with the objective of
upgrading the efficiency of postal services in the
region. Although some of these projects are on a
country basis, the exchange of information
amongst postal authorities will enable planners to
standardize or at least synchronise the region's
Postal services to facilitate the smooth flow of
inter-country mail. Among the notable projects
included the agreement to study the possibility of
introducing a new class of mail with postage rates
higher than surface mail but lower than air mail for
air conveyance at reduced priority, the introduction
of Business Reply Service, Inter-Country
Remittance Service and International Express Mail
Service within ASEAN continued on a bilateral
basis.
Conscious of its possible contribution to the
cultivation of ASEAN awareness and
understanding, ASEAN postal authorities launched
the Letter Writing Competition for Young People,
the Third Competition to be held in 1985 with the
theme "ASEAN and My Country". A decision has
also been made to issue stamps to commemorate
ASEAN's 20th Anniversary in 1987 by all postal
authorities.
Within the telecommunications sector, the
last segment of the ASEAN Submarine Cable
System will be reviewed in view of the interest
expressed by Brunei Darussalam and the recent
technological development in this area.
With regard to the ASEAN Cableship project,
COTAC endorsed the proposal to establish the
ASEAN Cableship Maintenance Company subject
to the finalization of its detail arrangements by
participating member countries. The proposed
company will undertake maintenance service for
the ASEAN Submarine Cable Systems as well as
other submarine cable systems in the region. The
project was mooted in view of the ever escalating
cost of submarine cables maintenance.
COTAC established the ASEAN Radio
Frequency Coordination Committee with a view to
coordinating the use, the administration, the
management and planning of radio frequency in
the ASEAN region especially in the border areas.
The Secretariat of the Committee will be in
Indonesia.
Civil Aviation
Restrictive civil aviation policies continued to
affect ASEAN Airlines in their efforts to expand
their air services in both existing and planned
sectors. Most of these were tackled bilaterally by
the ASEAN Airlines concerned. Regarding the
ASEAN Airlines/Lufthansa dispute, significant
progress has been made in the negotiations
between the two parties and was moving towards a
successful conclusion. The note of optimism is
based on the agreement reached at the last ASEAN
Airlines/Lufthansa meeting held in Bangkok on 11
January 1985. The Seven-tenth ASEAN Economic
Ministers� Meeting noted the progress and
commended the ASEAN Airlines in upholding the
spirit of ASEAN solidarity throughout the
negotiations and urged the ASEAN Airlines to
continue negotiations to resolve the remaining
issues.
ASEAN cooperation in the area of civil
avation culminated with the introduction of the
ASEAN Circle Trip Fare and ASEAN Promotional
Fare. These fares will be reviewed to ascertain its
effectiveness in the promotion of tourism within
the region. The review will also consider the
inclusion of Bandar Seri Begawan in the fare structure.
The Agreement for the Facilitation of Search
and Rescue (SAR) of Survivors in Aircraft
Accidents received a further boost with the conclusions
of a bilateral agreement between Malaysia
and Singapore.
The exchanges of information among member
countries on meteorological research and meteorological
facilities and equipment were carried out
during every ASEAN Sub-Committee on Civil
Aviation and Related Services Meeting. Numerous
research and information papers were circulated
for this purpose.
Shipping
In the area of shipping the Federation of
ASEAN Shipowners' Association published the
ASEAN Shipping Directory containing practical
guide to regional shipping activities. The Directory
will be updated annually.
Regarding the Feasibility Study on the
Establishment of an ASEAN Liner Service/joint
Shipping Services, the ASEAN Standing Committee
has approved the utilisation of the ASEAN
Fund for this purpose. The feasibility study is part
of the Intra-ASEAN Shipping Study that aims to
identify problems and obstacles faced by the
ASEAN member countries in sea transport
between themselves and to formulate a comprehensive
programme of development of ASEAN
shipping, ports and ancillary facilities to -meet the
future needs of the region's economy. The South
East Asian Agency, for Regional Transport and
Communications Development (SEATAC) has
been assigned to conduct the study.
Land Transport
The Agreement on the Recognition of
Domestic Driving Licences Issued by ASEAN
countries was initialled by the 17th AEM and will
subsequently be signed by the ASEAN Foreign
Ministers. The Agreement once implemented
would enable ASEAN nationals with valid
domestic driving licence to drive in any ASEAN
country without having to secure local driving
licence. The Agreement was drafted essentially to
encourage and promote intra-ASEAN tourism. The
Agreement once implemented would also see the
simultaneous implementation of a r) English
Translation for Domestic Drivers' Licences.
For more information, please refer to Table 1 and Table 2