(b) development of ASEAN interconnectivity in telecommunications; including fixed and mobile voice and data and EDI services, for trade and business communications and to enhance land, sea and air transport;
(c) harmonisation of road transport laws, rules and regulations in ASEAN;
(d) improvement of air space management in ASEAN;
(e) development of ASEAN rules and regulations for carriage of dangerous goods and industrial wastes by land and sea; and
(f) human resources development in transport and communications.
A number of activities in the area of human resource deveIopment were implemented during the, year. A seminar- cum-study tour on upgrading the efficiency of railway operations, funded by the Japan- ASEAN Cooperation Promotion Programme (JACPP), was held in Chiba, Japan from 10 to 20 October 1994. The Meeting gave ASEAN land transport officials and railway managers a chance to exchange information with their Japanese counterparts on issues in urban railway transport with a view to gaining insights into ways of mitigating urban transport problems in ASEAN. Other projects which are underway include preparations for the establishment of a centre of excellence in inland waterways which is being developed with the assistance of ESCAP. Following the decision of the SEOM held in Jakarta from 5 to 7 December 1994, an in-depth study is also being done on a proposal for the establishment of a centre of excellence in railways for ASEAN in Malaysia.
Following the completion of the ASEAN Cargo Transport Study (ACTS), a number of follow-up activities have taken place. During the period under review, a regional review seminar on multimodal transport was held in Bangkok from 6 to 8 September 1994. The seminar reviewed the implementation on the national actions spelt out in the ACTS and formulated a number of recommendations for regional action in the facilitation of muItimodal transport in Southeast Asia. In the area of human resource development, under the ASEAN- EC integrated harbour management programme, which entered its second year of implementation -n January 1995, a workshop on port planning and financing was conducted from 9 to 21 October in Surabaya, Indonesia. Another workshop on container terminal development and operation was held in January 1995 in Cebu, Philippines. ASEAN also received funding approval from the ASEAN German Fund for Studies and Experts for a project on EDP-based information for safe handling of dangerous cargo in selected ASEAN ports. A preliminary study of dangerous cargo handling in the selected ports started in March and a workshop scheduled for the third quarter of 1995 is expected to come up with the recommendations for follow-up action.
Cooperation in civil aviation and related services remained focussed on policy coordination through the exchange of information and experience, and on human resource development. Consultation and exchange of information on the improvement of airspace management in ASEAN and on ICAO-CNS/ATM Systems and its application in ASEAN continued among Member Countries as a way of keeping abreast of the latest developments in each Member Country's planning and activities with regard to the ICAO-CNS/ ATM Systems. In the area f human resources development, Member Countries continued to offer their training facilities to each other and to exchange experience, for example in the removal/recovery of disabled aircraft. A training programme in air traffic control funded by the EU also took place during this period.
The improvement and development of intra-country postal and telecommunications systems to provide cost-effective, high quality and customer- oriented services continued to dominate ASEAN cooperation in posts and telecommunications.
In postal services, ASEAN Member Countries continued their respective activities in establishing postal track and trace systems to improve the quality of ASEAN express mail. Part of this effort involved information exchange which could help modernise the remittance service, improve international business reply service and enhance mail security.
In telecommunications, with the Singapore-Indonesia and Malaysia-Thailand segments becoming operational in the second half of 1994, the ASEAN Optical Fibre Submarine Cable Network, comprising six segments which link all ASEAN Member Countries is now fully completed and operational. In the area of human resource development, training for 18 ASEAN participants in telecommunications human resource management funded by Canada was carried out from February 13 to 3 March 1995 in Toronto, Canada.