Group photo of ASEAN leaders and US President Joe Biden in front of the White House at the banquet held on May 12, held ahead of the ASEAN-US Special Summit. (Photo: VNA)Following is the full text of the statement:
ASEAN-U.S. Special Summit 2022, Joint Vision Statement
MAY 13, 2022
WE, the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) andthe United States gather on the occasion of the ASEAN-U.S. Special Summit, thefirst-ever to be held in Washington, D.C., on 12-13 May 2022.
EMPHASIZING the importance of adhering to key principles, shared values andnorms enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, the ASEAN Charter, theDeclaration on Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality (ZOPFAN), the Treaty ofAmity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), the 1982 United NationsConvention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Treaty on the Southeast AsiaNuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific(AOIP);
EMPHASIZING the importance of creating a peaceful environment for furtherenhancing cooperation and strengthening the existing bonds of friendship amongour countries in keeping with the principles of equality, partnership,consultation, and mutual respect, guided by the principles of the East Asia Summit(EAS) Declaration on the Principles for Mutually Beneficial Relations (BaliPrinciples);
RECOGNIZING that our cooperation has long been indispensable to ASEAN, to theUnited States, and to the broader international community, beginning with ourfirst dialogue, in Manila in 1977, and growing with the United States’ signingof the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia; with theestablishment of a U.S. Mission to ASEAN, in Jakarta; and with the founding ofthe ASEAN-U.S. Summit;
NOTING that both the AOIP and the Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United Statesshare relevant fundamental principles in promoting an open, inclusive, andrules-based regional architecture, in which ASEAN is central, alongsidepartners who share in these goals;
REAFFIRMING our shared commitment to strengthen and build more comprehensiveASEAN-U.S. Dialogue Relations, which have long been indispensable to ASEAN andthe United States, as well as the broader region and the internationalcommunity, in order to continue promoting and maintaining peace, security,stability and prosperity in the region; to ensure that relations remainadaptable to meet new challenges; and to appropriately cooperate ininternational and regional fora of which ASEAN Member States and the United Statesare members.
FURTHER REAFFIRMING our shared commitment to maintaining and promoting peace,security and stability in the region, as well as to the peaceful resolution ofdisputes, including full respect for legal and diplomatic processes, without resortingto the threat or use of force, in accordance with international law.
WE HEREBY DECLARE:
As we celebrate the 45th anniversary of ASEAN-U.S. Dialogue Relations in 2022,we commit to establish an ASEAN-U.S. Comprehensive Strategic Partnership thatis meaningful, substantive, and mutually beneficial at the 10th ASEAN-U.S.Summit in November 2022. We look forward to the early completion of thenecessary process.
Fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, building better health security, and recoveringtogether
We support ASEAN’s pandemic recovery and health security efforts bystrengthening regional and national health systems and capabilities, such asthrough the ASEAN-U.S. Health Futures initiative, and commit to adequate,stronger and sustainable global financing for pandemic prevention,preparedness, and response, including supporting ongoing efforts with the WorldBank and the World Health Organization. In welcoming support extended by ASEANDialogue Partners through various initiatives, including the Quad VaccinePartnership, we remain committed to facilitating equitable access to safe,affordable and quality medicine and health services. We are also committed toexpanding local and regional sustainable manufacturing capacity of essentialmedical products, including through transfer of knowledge on voluntary andmutually agreed terms and provision of technical assistance. We are committedto investing in and strengthening health systems through Universal HealthCoverage, in particular primary health care and access to essential healthservices, and expanding and training the health workforce as strong foundationsfor regional and global health and health security.
Strengthening Economic Ties and Connectivity
We are committed to continuing to advance stronger, more equitable, moreinclusive economic growth and sustainable development, including through theimplementation of the ASEAN-U.S. Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement andExpanded Economic Engagement Initiatives Workplan, and through the vitaleconomic participation of the U.S. in the region.
We are committed to working to meet the region’s infrastructure needs bycatalyzing investment in high-standard, transparent, low-carbon andclimate-resilient infrastructure projects that advance inclusive andsustainable economic growth that meet applicable international labor standardsand environmental protections.
We are committed to continuing to cooperate to promote trade and investmentand facilitating resilient global supply chains and seamless regionalconnectivity, including for essential goods such as medical supplies,medicines, vaccines, food and agricultural products, commodities, high-techproducts, and other essential supplies and services, contributing tosustainable economic recovery and resilience in the region.
We seek to deepen our collaboration on transportconnectivity, including air, land, maritime, and transport facilitation programto advance sustainable infrastructure development and support emergingtechnologies, including electric vehicles.
We remain committed to and invested in prosperity and development in ASEANand the United States. We will actively partner in the discussions tostrengthen regional and global governance systems, and we look forward tofurther strengthening cooperation including through relevant initiatives orframeworks of the United States or ASEAN.
We are committed to improving cybersecurity capabilities, promoting digitalliteracy and inclusion, and strengthening frameworks and policies that fosterefficiency, innovation, communication, safe and equitable use of the internetand economic prosperity while exchanging views and experiences on cyber threatsand on regulatory framework and technical standards that protect personal datain light of emerging technologies and their vulnerabilities.
Promoting Maritime Cooperation
We note the United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/75/239emphasizing in the Preamble, the universal and unified character of the 1982UNCLOS, and reaffirming that the Convention sets out the legal framework withinwhich all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out and is ofstrategic importance as the basis for national, regional and global action andcooperation in the marine sector, and that its integrity needs to be maintained.
We are committed to advancing our cooperation in the maritime domain throughASEAN-led mechanisms. We plan to forge new ties as well as to promotecooperation and coordination among our relevant agencies, including maritimelaw enforcement agencies, to collaborate to improve maritime domain awareness,search and rescue, maritime security, and to curb illegal, unreported, andunregulated (IUU) fishing through sharing of information, best practices andexpertise, as well as technical assistance, which will complement, and notduplicate the existing mechanisms. We also commit to continuing efforts toprotect, restore, and sustainably manage the marine environment.
We are dedicated to maintaining peace, security, and stability in the region, andto ensuring maritime security and safety, as well as freedom of navigation andoverflight and other lawful uses of the seas as described in the 1982 UNCLOS,and unimpeded lawful maritime commerce as well as non-militarization andself-restraint in the conduct of activities.
We recognise the benefits of having the South China Sea (called the East Sea inVietnam) as a sea of peace, stability, and prosperity. We emphasise theimportance of practical measures that could reduce tensions and the risk ofaccidents, misunderstandings, and miscalculation. We stressed the importance ofundertaking confidence building and preventive measures to enhance, amongothers, trust and confidence amongst parties. We further reaffirmed the need topursue peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with universallyrecognized principles of international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS.
We underscored the importance of the full and effective implementation of the2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in itsentirety. We emphasized the need to maintain and promote an environmentconducive to the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) negotiations. Wewelcome further progress towards the early conclusion of an effective andsubstantive COC consistent with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS.
Enhancing People-to-people connectivity
We are committed to investing in human capital development, empowering youthand vulnerable or marginalized groups, and strengthening the connectionsbetween our peoples, among others, support for English language, digitalskills, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Science,Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) trainings in the region, includingthrough the Billion Futures Program and the Young Southeast Asian LeadersInitiative (YSEALI).
We commit to working with partners, including companies and universities, toincrease access to education while fostering collaboration and exchanges amongour students and workers. Furthermore, we are committed to empowering women andgirls and promoting gender equity and equality through enhanced engagement inASEAN-led mechanisms, including through support for ASEAN’s gender programs andinitiatives. We also commit to advancing the rights of persons withdisabilities through supporting implementation of the ASEAN Enabling Masterplanon Mainstreaming the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Supporting Sub-regional Development
We are committed to supporting ASEAN Centrality and unity in promoting ASEAN’ssub-regional development. We further commit to promoting the stability, peace,prosperity, and sustainable development of the Mekong sub-region through sharedinitiatives under the Mekong-U.S. Partnership (MUSP), which complements theFriends of the Mekong, and supports the implementation of the Master Plan onASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025 and the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI)Work Plan IV (2021-2025).
We support ASEAN’s efforts in promoting equitable development, including in thefields of energy transition, transportation, environmental protection, regionalresources management, and water data sharing in accordance with the MekongRiver Commission’s Procedures for Data and Information Exchange and Sharing(PDIES), by aligning sub-regional growth with the comprehensive development ofASEAN, and to promote complementarity and synergy among ASEAN, MUSP and otherexisting Mekong cooperation mechanisms.
Leveraging Technologies and Promoting Innovation
We are committed to further exploring cooperation in areas of mutual benefitsuch as smart manufacturing, blockchain applications, trade facilitation,digital connectivity, digitalisation and e-commerce of MSMEs, e-services,digital financial services and regional payment connectivity, new and emergingtechnologies in line with relevant ASEAN agreements and frameworks, as well asincrease technical assistance for ASEAN Member States to promote innovation,and capacity building on digital skills.
We commit to support the development of ASEAN’s digital infrastructure, topromote the development of peaceful, secure, open, interoperable, reliable,inclusive, and resilient Information and Communications Technology (ICT)ecosystems and 5G networks, and explore ways to strengthen cooperation ondigital economy, smart, sustainable city development and emerging technologies,including through the U.S.-ASEAN Smart Cities Partnership (USASCP).
We are committed to enhancing collaboration in biotechnology, smart farming,both precision agriculture and climate-smart agriculture (CSA), food science,meteorology, microelectronics, marine science, energy, and space.
Addressing Climate Change
We are further committed to working together to advance our respectivenationally determined contributions (NDC). We affirm the key role thatsub-national actors play in advancing climate action, and intend to collaboratetogether in the clean energy transition, including through financing andtechnology. We recognize the importance of taking strong action to reducemethane emissions globally, including through efforts underway such as the GlobalMethane Pledge.
We are committed to intensifying our partnership to bolster ASEAN’s capacity toenhance disaster resiliency and adapt to the effects of climate change, such asrising sea levels, more frequent flooding, drought and other extreme weatherevents, heightened risk of water-energy-food insecurity, andever-more-destructive storms.
We resolve to enhance energy transition and resilience in an inclusive and just manner through thefacilitation of clean and renewable energy development, the promotion ofpublic-private collaboration to address transition financing needs, includingthrough blended finance, and the deployment of advanced and emerging low-carbonenergy technologies in supporting increased access to energy services and energy security, including ongoing efforts,such as elements of the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC)that support the acceleration of energy transition and strengthening of energyresilience in ASEAN, particularly the ASEAN Power Grid.
We resolve to work together to conserve ASEAN’s rich biodiversity and itsnatural capital, including through preventing, halting and reversingdeforestation, and the degradation of ecosystems, as well as the restoration ofcritical ecosystems including forests, and wetlands, coastal and marineecosystems, and the continued collaboration with the ASEAN Centre forBiodiversity (ACB).
Preserving Peace, Building Trust
We support ASEAN’s efforts to preserve the Southeast Asian region as a NuclearWeapon-Free Zone and free of all other weapons of mass destruction, asenshrined in the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZTreaty) and the ASEAN Charter to strengthen the nuclear non-proliferationregime, and to nuclear disarmament as stipulated in Article VI of the Treaty onthe Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and peaceful uses of nuclearenergy as set forth in NPT Article IV. We remain committed to universalizationof the IAEA additional protocol, and support full implementation of theConvention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling andUse of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (CWC) and the Convention onthe Prohibition of the Development, Production, and Stockpiling ofBacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction (BTWC).
We reaffirm a shared commitment to the goal of the complete denuclearizationand the establishment of a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. We continueto call on the DPRK to fully comply with the relevant UN Security Councilresolutions, taking into account the international community’s call fordiplomacy and in the interest of maintaining peace and security in the region.
We remain deeply concerned over the crisis in Myanmar. We highlight Myanmar’scommitment to the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus during the ASEAN Leaders’ Meetingon 24 April 2021 and urge the timely and complete implementation of theFive-Point Consensus. We will continue to support ASEAN’s efforts to facilitatea peaceful solution in the interest of the people of Myanmar, including throughthe work of the Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar, in buildingconfidence and trust with full access to all parties concerned, and effectivedelivery of humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar, including thosewho are the most in need, without discrimination. We reiterate our commitmentto peace and stability in the region and continue to call for the immediatecessation of violence in Myanmar and for the release of all politicaldetainees, including foreigners. We will redouble our collective effortstowards a peaceful solution in Myanmar that also reflects a continuedcommitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms, as outlined in the ASEANCharter. We welcome close coordination between the Special Envoy of the ASEANChair on Myanmar and the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Myanmarto ensure synergy in this important endeavor.
With regard to Ukraine, as for all nations, we continue to reaffirm our respectfor sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity. Wereiterate our call for compliance with the UN Charter and international law. Weunderline the importance of an immediate cessation of hostilities and creatingan enabling environment for peaceful resolution. We support the efforts of theUN Secretary-General in the search for a peaceful solution. We also call forthe facilitation of rapid, safe and unhindered access to humanitarianassistance for those in need in Ukraine, and for the protection of civilians,humanitarian personnel, and persons in vulnerable situations.
As we proceed with implementation of this ambitious agenda in the coming monthsand years, we look forward to reaching a new level of cooperation and partnershipand task our Ministers to coordinate the implementation of this Joint VisionStatement./.
VNA
