The ASEAN Secretariat is most pleased to work with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on this important project within the framework of UNESCO's "culture of peace program."

In December 1995, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 50/173 endorsing UNESCO's transdisciplinary project entitled "Towards a Culture of Peace". At about the same time, ASEAN's heads of government were holding their Fifth Summit and declaring that "Cooperative peace and shared prosperity shall be the fundamental goals of ASEAN."

The timing of the two declarations was not a coincidence. Both simply articulated the burning desire and aspiration of our time.

The search for peace resulted in various approaches and ways of thinking among the practitioners and scholars in this field. There is the concept of "comprehensive security", according to which the promotion of peace requires a multi-dimensional approach. "Common security" refers to a commitment to joint survival and the achievement of security with others and not against them. Finally, "collective security" pertains to mutual defense arrangements, which commit each party to come to the aid of any of the other parties should it come under attack.

We understand cooperative peace as the opposite of a cold peace. It takes initiatives in building mutual confidence by undertaking cooperative activities not only to maintain order but also to promote development. Cooperative peace is both a process and a goal. It creates an environment conducive to development. In turn, development helps promote a lasting peace.

But while the terms "culture of peace" and "cooperative peace" have been coined only recently, these conditions have been the ultimate aim and primary focus of the United Nations, ASEAN, and many other organizations and individuals over the years.

The value of the Culture of Peace Programme of UNESCO is that it goes beyond policy-making and institution building. It pursues a long-term approach to the question of peace through measures "to firmly anchor peace in the minds of men and women".

On the other hand, ASEAN is founded on the universal principles of regional cooperation. ASEAN's founding document, the Bangkok Declaration of 1967, states that "the cherished ideals of peace, freedom, social justice and economic well-being are best attained by fostering good understanding, good neighborliness and meaningful cooperation among the countries of the region already bound together by ties of history and culture". Peaceful cooperation does not come about automatically as a function of regional organization. It evolves and flourishes in a certain environment. Toward this end, the ASEAN Concord of 1976 states that "Member states shall strive, individually and collectively, to create conditions conducive to the promotion of peaceful cooperation among the nations of Southeast Asia on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit."

Cooperative peace in Southeast Asia aims to promote regional resilience based on the specific principles embodied in the 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. These principles include: (a) mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity of all nations; (b) the right of every State to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion or coercion; (c) non-interference in the internal affairs of one another; (d) settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful means; (e) renunciation of the threat or use of force; and (f) effective cooperation among themselves.

ASEAN, above all, is a state of mind.

A group of distinguished men and women of Southeast Asia met in 1994 and again in 1996 to exchange views on the state of Southeast Asian engagement. Their efforts culminated in a document entitled "Towards a Southeast Asian Community: A Human Agenda". The Human Agenda reaffirms that communities are about people and that community-building is a process of creating a state of mind. The Human Agenda believes that the tie that truly binds is not faceless institutions and agencies, impersonal agreements and procedures, but a commitment, a sense of caring and sharing, a sense of participation and ownership, a sense of belonging and attachment; in other words, a sense of community, which can only be nurtured in the spirit of real, live human beings.

The Human Agenda affirms that "Peace for the people is not only the absence of war, but also involves the presence of positive conditions, supportive of security of life and property at all levels and conducive to mutually beneficial exchanges among nation-states and peoples".

ASEAN has achieved important milestones in its pursuit of lasting peace. The Declaration on the Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality recognizes that all countries of Southeast Asia "share a primary responsibility" for the maintenance of peace, freedom and independence. The ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia binds the contracting parties to renounce the threat or use of force and prescribes a process for the pacific settlement of disputes. The Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone is the region's contribution to the global campaign for the elimination of weapons of mass destruction. The Manila Declaration on the South China Sea commends peaceful, restrained and cooperative approaches to managing disputes in the South China Sea. The establishment of the ASEAN Regional Forum, consisting of all Southeast Asian countries and all ASEAN Dialogue Partners, demonstrates ASEAN's inclusive approach to building common peace and security with its immediate neighbors and beyond. For three decades now, the spirit of ASEAN solidarity has overshadowed whatever remains of bilateral disputes between Member States.

Both the ASEAN Summit Declaration of 1995 and the relevant UNGA resolutions on the culture of peace, therefore, represent reaffirmations of a common commitment to the cause of peace. The issue is not whether such processes as the "culture of peace" and "cooperative peace" are new approaches to promoting peace or simply new expressions of the same ideals long cherished by peace-loving nations and communities. Instead, the task before us is to dwell on ways of fulfilling their common aspirations.

We understand that UNESCO has drafted a provisional programme of action on a culture of peace that is currently under consideration by the UN General Assembly.

At the same time, ASEAN is formulating a plan of action to implement the ASEAN Vision 2020 that was adopted by the ASEAN Heads of Government in Kuala Lumpur in 1997. The ASEAN Leaders envision a community of Southeast Asian nations at peace with one another and at peace with the world. They see ASEAN as an effective force for peace, justice and moderation in the Asia-Pacific and in the world. The ASEAN Plan of Action shall be adopted at the Sixth ASEAN Summit that will be held in Hanoi in December this year. I trust that the result of this Symposium could serve as a valuable contribution to the formulation of that important document at this crucial stage in ASEAN's history.

Cooperative peace requires a shared commitment to pursue cooperative actions at the international, regional, national and community levels. This Regional Symposium is ASEAN's contribution. We seek not an easy road to peace. We toil to build a strong foundation that will overcome the threats to peace.