ASEAN CHARTER

ASEAN CHARTER

**

(Update on progress): **

51.

Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) whether he will give an update on the progress made in adopting an ASEAN Charter; (b) what will this Charter achieve; and (c) will the adoption of this Charter mark a change in ASEAN's principles of consensus and non-interference.

Mr George Yong-Boon Yeo: Update on the progress made in adopting an ASEAN Charter

Last year, ASEAN Leaders tasked an Eminent Persons Group or EPG to recommend bold and visionary ideas of an ASEAN Charter. The Charter seeks to reposition ASEAN in the new strategic environment. As Members may know, DPM S Jayakumar was Singapore's representative to the EPG. This group of very senior statesmen, including former President Ramos, DPM Tun Musa Hitam and Foreign Minister Ali Alatas, produced an excellent report. The ideas are bold yet practical. At the recent Cebu Summit, the Leaders gave their strong endorsement to the EPG report and have instructed a High Level Task Force to draft the Charter in time for ASEAN's 40th Anniversary Summit to be held in Singapore in November. The Charter can be expected to enter into force upon deposit of ratifications by all member states. Our representative on the High Level Task Force is Ambassador-at-Large Professor Tommy Koh. In fact, they have just had their first meeting in Jakarta.

What will the Charter achieve

The Charter seeks to achieve two purposes. First, it seeks to transform ASEAN into a more effective organisation. It is clear that if ASEAN is to achieve its vision of an ASEAN Community, it cannot go on doing the same. It must implement the many agreements and declarations that its Leaders sign. This means that decisions taken must be treated seriously, ways must be found to enforce them and non-compliance must be frowned upon. As ASEAN matures as a regional organisation, it is only natural that it takes the next step of developing into a more rules-based organisation.

Second, it seeks to give impetus to ASEAN's community building efforts. Over the years, ASEAN cooperation has expanded into many fields. Today, all levels of ASEAN officials meet in many settings and across different sectors. As regional integration efforts pick up, we can expect the demands on ASEAN to increase. Indeed, at the last Cebu Summit, the Leaders have brought forward the timetable for the realisation of the ASEAN Community from 2020 to 2015. The EPG have therefore recommended that ASEAN's organisational structure be enhanced to support regional integration efforts, including strengthening the role of the ASEAN Secretariat and Secretary General, getting Leaders to meet more often, better coordination across member states, and efforts to mobilise resources to help narrow the developmental gap.

Will the adoption of the Charter mark a change in ASEAN's principles of consensus and non-interference

The principles of consensus and non-interference have served ASEAN well over the past four decades. They have made it possible for ASEAN countries to develop a sense of trust and understanding and pave the way for ASEAN cooperation as we know it today.

At the same time, ASEAN recognises that times are changing; to the region is becoming more interdependent and face transboundary challenges such as the 1997 Asian financial crises, SARS, tsunami, avian influenza and haze that no one country can handle on its own. This will require ASEAN to calibrate or adjust its traditional policy of non-interference with member states collaborating more closely to tackle some of these new challenges.

ASEAN must also respond more quickly to the demands of a dynamic and changing environment. While consensus as a principle should be upheld for particularly sensitive areas like security, defence and foreign policy, there are many functional areas where consensus would slow us down. The EPG have therefore recommended that for non-sensitive areas like economic cooperation, we can apply principles such as 10-X and 2+X, in which members that are willing and ready can proceed with implementing certain projects, while others have a more flexible timeline to come on board. Such flexibility and pragmatism will allow the grouping to move forward without being held back by one member or a minority.