MEETINGS OF ASEAN MINISTERS AND ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM

Mr Simon S C Tay asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs how will the meetings of the ASEAN Ministers and the ASEAN Regional Forum contribute to the prospects for peace and economic recovery in the region.

Prof. S. Jayakumar: The recent meetings of the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN and Dialogue Partners saw a candid and substantive exchange of views on a variety of issues, including sensitive subjects like good governance, human rights and recent developments in the South China Sea, Korean Peninsular and Kargil.

As regards the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, the highlight was the Minister's Retreat. At the Retreat, we brainstormed the challenges facing ASEAN against the backdrop of the regional economic crisis and an expanded membership. One of the concrete outcomes that emerged from this self-appraisal process was the unanimous endorsement of PM's proposal for an ASEAN Joint Roadshow.

The ASEAN Joint Roadshow will collectively market ASEAN to the major economies in North America, East Asia and Europe as an attractive investment destination. We hope to get the first Roadshow out before the end of this year. By pooling our resources and working closely together on this project, ASEAN will send an important message to the world that it is resolute, effective and united.

The meetings that took place in Singapore last month were essentially meetings of Foreign Ministers, not Economic Ministers. Hence, we did not directly discuss specific aspects about the regional economy, although we reaffirmed our commitment to remain open, market-oriented and plugged into the global economy.

Unlike last year, there was a strong mood of optimism among ASEAN and the Dialogue Partners at the recent ASEAN meetings that countries in the region had turned the corner. At the same time, they were realistic and recognised that reforms must be on track and protectionist tendencies should be resisted.

It is clear, however, that peace and stability in Southeast Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific is the essential foundation for economic growth and recovery. ASEAN's essential purpose is to manage diversity and differences in Southeast Asia within a cooperative framework. We are a very heterogeneous region and the potential for conflict is never absent. Disputes and potential flashpoints have to be carefully managed to ensure that tensions do not escalate.

With this in mind, ASEAN Ministers met Dialogue Partners at the ARF and Post-Ministerial Conferences and reviewed common security concerns in the context of the broader implications for regional peace and stability. In this connection, ASEAN reaffirmed the need for a Regional Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. The ASEAN Working Group on ZOPFAN and SEANWFZ has been tasked to elaborate the document.

I was encouraged by the fact that there was a candid exchange of views even on difficult and sensitive issues. This shows that the ARF has made progress and the comfort level achieved by the ARF Ministers has increased over the past six years. At the same time, the Foreign Ministers also recognised that the ARF process must continue to progress in order to remain relevant. To facilitate the evolution from Confidence Building Measures to Preventive Diplomacy, Singapore, on behalf of ASEAN, is preparing a paper on the concept and principles of Preventive Diplomacy for further discussion in the next inter-sessional year.