ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – ASEAN SecretaryGeneral Le Luong Minh highlighted the bloc’s milestones during its 50 years of existencein an interview with Vietnam News Agency.
Minh told reporters that the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established in 1967 with only five members,Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines. The purpose atthat time was to deal with security-related risks amid the Cold War and theanti-US war in Indochina.
The bloc then admitted Brunei in 1984,Vietnam in 1995, Laos and Myanmar in 1997 and Cambodia in 1999. These moves completedits initial target of connecting all Southeast Asian countries which are diversein political institution, economic structure, cultural identity, language andreligion.
In 2003, the bloc issued the Declaration ofASEAN Concord II identifying the objective of establishing an ASEAN Communitywith three pillars of politics-security, economics and culture-society, Minhsaid, adding that the ASEAN Charter in 2007 created a legal foundation andinstitution framework for strengthening regional connectivity and for establishingthe ASEAN Community in 2015.
The most important milestone in ASEAN’shistory was the establishment of the ASEAN Community in December 2015 and thelaunch of the ASEAN Vision 2025 towards a self-reliant, legal-binding andpeople –centered community on January 1, 2016, he added.
[ASEAN – a rare sub-region organisation of solidarity: Deputy PM]
Mechanisms including the ASEAN RegionalForum, East Asia Summit and Asia Plus Three are important forums for ASEAN countriesand others in the Asian-Pacific region to tighten ties and solve tensions whichcan lead to conflicts, especially those related to nuclear weapons andsovereignty in the East Sea.
The central role of ASEAN in thesemechanisms contributes to maintaining strategic balance, as well as peace andstability in the region, Minh affirmed.
On opportunities and challenges facing ASEAN,Minh stated that the Vision 2025 opens up more opportunities for the ASEANCommunity to grow comprehensively and integrate more deeply to gain bigger influencein the world.
However, to grasp the opportunities, thecommunity also has to overcome many challenges, including differences in lawsystems of states, wide development gaps among them and people’s limitedawareness of the community.
Additionally, complicated developments,especially unilateral actions violating international law in the East Sea, cancause instability in the region as well as disperse resources possibly focusedfor the countries’ development, he added.
Therefore, the secretary general stressedthe need for ASEAN to speed up the harmonisation of the member nations’ lawsystems, balance the nations’ short-term interests with the community’s commonand long-term interests, carry out measures and projects to narrow developmentgaps and raise public awareness of the community.
It is also essential to boost intra-bloctrade and investment, diversify economic, trade and investment relations withpartners and uphold the central role of ASEAN in negotiations to solve disputeson the basis of international law, he added.-VNA
The central role of ASEAN in thesemechanisms contributes to maintaining strategic balance, as well as peace andstability in the region, Minh affirmed.
On opportunities and challenges facing ASEAN,Minh stated that the Vision 2025 opens up more opportunities for the ASEANCommunity to grow comprehensively and integrate more deeply to gain bigger influencein the world.
However, to grasp the opportunities, thecommunity also has to overcome many challenges, including differences in lawsystems of states, wide development gaps among them and people’s limitedawareness of the community.
Additionally, complicated developments,especially unilateral actions violating international law in the East Sea, cancause instability in the region as well as disperse resources possibly focusedfor the countries’ development, he added.
Therefore, the secretary general stressedthe need for ASEAN to speed up the harmonisation of the member nations’ lawsystems, balance the nations’ short-term interests with the community’s commonand long-term interests, carry out measures and projects to narrow developmentgaps and raise public awareness of the community.
It is also essential to boost intra-bloctrade and investment, diversify economic, trade and investment relations withpartners and uphold the central role of ASEAN in negotiations to solve disputeson the basis of international law, he added.-VNA
VNA
