Database
on Basic Documents of Japan-ASEAN Relations
Department of
Advanced Social and International Studies,
ANNEX
for ASEAN Security
Community Plan of Action
ACTIVITIES
I.
Political Development
1.
Promotion of a just, democratic and harmonious environment
:
a.
Strengthening democratic institutions and popular participation;
b.
Promoting understanding and appreciation of political system, culture
and history of ASEAN Member Countries;
c.
Strengthening the rule of law and judiciary systems, legal
infrastructure and capacity building;
d.
Promoting free flow of information among and within ASEAN Member
Countries;
e.
Enhancing good governance in public and private sectors;
f.
Strengthening effective and efficient civil services; and
g.
Preventing and combating corruption.
2. Promotion of human rights and
obligations:
a.
Establishing a network among existing human rights mechanisms;
b.
Protecting vulnerable groups including women, children, people with
disabilities, and migrant workers; and
c.
Promoting education and public awareness on human rights.
3.
Promotion of people-to-people contacts:
a.
Encouraging the role of ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organisation
(AIPO) in political and security cooperation;
b.
Promoting public participation and the contribution of the ASEAN People’s Assembly (APA) to the ASEAN community building;
c.
Strengthening the role of the ASEAN Foundation;
d.
Encouraging the contribution of ASEAN-ISIS to political development;
e.
Strengthening the role of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC);
and
f.
Supporting the activities of the ASEAN University Network.
II.
Shaping and Sharing of Norms
1.
Strengthening the TAC regime:
a.
Accession to the TAC by non-ASEAN countries; and
b.
Periodic assessment of the implementation of the TAC and exploration of
ways and means for its effective implementation.
2.
Working towards development of an ASEAN Charter which will inter alia reaffirm ASEAN’s goals and principles in inter-state relations, in particular the
collective responsibilities of all ASEAN Member Countries in ensuring
non-aggression and respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity; the promotion and protection of
human rights; the maintenance of political stability, regional peace and
economic progress; and the establishment of effective and efficient
institutional framework for ASEAN.
3.
Resolving all outstanding issues to ensure early signing of the Nuclear
Weapon States to the Protocol to the SEANWFZ Treaty.
4.
ASEAN Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) Agreement:
a.
Compilation of existing bilateral MLA Agreements among ASEAN Member
Countries and between ASEAN and other countries;
b.
Identification of issues relating to the establishment of an ASEAN MLA
Agreement; and
c.
Conclusion of ASEAN MLA Agreement.
5.
ASEAN Extradition Treaty as envisaged by the 1976 Declaration of ASEAN
Concord:
a.
Identification of ASEAN political decisions to establish Extradition
Treaty and bilateral Extradition Treaties between ASEAN Member Countries; and
b.
Establishment of a working group on ASEAN Extradition Treaty under the
purview of ASEAN Senior Law Officials Meeting (ASLOM).
6.
Ensuring the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties
in the South China Sea (DOC) through, inter alia:
Establishing an ASEAN–China Working
Group on the Implementation of the DOC;
Establishing a review mechanism on the implementation of the DOC; and
Working towards the adoption of the
Code of Conduct in South China Sea (COC).
7.
ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism:
a.
Identification and analysis or assessment of documents and relevant instruments
related to counter terrorism;
b.
Working towards accession to and ratification of the relevant UN
conventions on counter terrorism; and
c.
Preparation, negotiation and conclusion of an ASEAN convention on
counter terrorism.
III.
Conflict Prevention
1.
Strengthening
a.
Organising and conducting regional military
exchanges among high-ranking officials, military academies, and staff colleges
of ASEAN Member Countries, apart from increasing bilateral visits and
exchanges;
b.
Periodic publication of strategic assessments on the security
environment, defence policies, and other security
issues, such as Defence White Papers and equivalent
documents;
c.
Working towards convening of an annual ASEAN Defence
Ministers Meeting (ADMM);
d.
Promoting exchange of observers at military exercises;
e.
Establishment of an ASEAN Arms Register to be administered by the ASEAN
Secretariat, in line with a similar activity being conducted in the ARF;
f.
Utilising military and civilian personnel in
disaster relief operation;
g.
Promotion of civil-military relations; and
h.
Exploring joint development and sharing of resources.
2. Strengthening
Preventive Measures:
a. Publishing an ASEAN
Members Annual Security Outlook;
b. Voluntary briefing
by ASEAN Member Countries on national security issues; and
c. Developing an ASEAN
early warning system based on existing mechanisms to prevent occurrence/escalation
of conflicts.
3. Strengthening the
ARF process in support of the ASEAN Security Community:
a. ARF Unit within the
ASEAN Secretariat;
b. Enhanced role of the
ARF Chair;
c. Strengthening ASEAN’s role in addressing the four overlapping issues of CBMs
and Preventive Diplomacy (Enhanced role of the ARF Chair, Annual Security
Outlook, Register of Experts/Eminent Persons, Voluntary Briefing on Regional
Issues); and
d. Moving the ARF to
the preventive diplomacy stage and beyond (implementation of the Concept Paper
on Preventive Diplomacy, establishment of an Intersessional
Support Group on Preventive Diplomacy).
4.
Enhancing cooperation on non-traditional security issues:
a.
Combating transnational crimes and other trans-boundary problems,
including money laundering, illegal migration, smuggling and illegal trade of
natural resources, trafficking in persons, drugs and precursors, as well as
communicable diseases;
b.
Promoting ASEAN maritime security cooperation;
c.
Strengthening law enforcement cooperation; and
d.
Promoting cooperation on environmental issues including haze, pollution
and floods.
5. Strengthening
efforts in maintaining respect for territorial integrity, sovereignty and unity
of member countries as stipulated in the Declaration on Principles of
International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in
Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations:
a.
Strengthening cooperation on the state’s obligation not to intervene in the affairs of other neighbouring
states, including refraining from the use of military, political, economic or
other form of coercion aimed against the political independence or territorial
integrity of other neighbouring states;
b.
Enhancing cooperation among ASEAN Member Countries to prevent the organisation, instigation, assistance and participation in
terrorist acts in other neighbouring ASEAN Member
Countries;
c.
Preventing the use of territory of any ASEAN Member Country as base for
any activities against security and stability of neighbouring
ASEAN Member Countries; and
d.
Strengthening cooperation to address subversive and insurgency
activities aimed at neighbouring ASEAN Member
Countries.
6. Strengthening cooperation to address
threats and challenges posed by separatism.
IV.
Conflict Resolution
1. Strengthening
Dispute Settlement Mechanisms:
a. The use of existing
modes of pacific settlement of disputes such as negotiations and consultations,
good offices, conciliation and mediation by all ASEAN Member Countries, or use
of the High Council of the TAC as a preferred option; and
b. If the High Council
so requires, it may establish on an ad hoc basis an Experts Advisory Committee
(EAC) or an Eminent Persons Group (EPG), which may extend assistance to the
High Council to provide advice or counsel on the settlement of disputes upon
request, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the High Council of TAC.
2. Developing regional cooperation for maintenance of peace and stability:
a.
Promoting technical cooperation with the UN and relevant regional organisations in order to benefit from their expertise and
experiences;
b.
Establishing/assigning national focal points for regional cooperation
for maintenance of peace and stability;
c.
Utilisation of national peace keeping centres which currently exist, or are being planned, in
some ASEAN Member Countries to establish regional arrangement for the
maintenance of peace and stability; and
d.
Establishing a network among existing ASEAN Member Countries’ peace keeping centres to conduct joint
planning, training, and sharing of experiences, with a view to establishing an
ASEAN arrangement for the maintenance of peace and stability.
3.
Developing Supporting Initiatives:
a. Promoting exchange
and cooperation among ASEAN centres of excellence on
peace, and conflict management and resolution studies; and
b. Considering the establishment
of an ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation.
V.
1. Strengthening ASEAN
humanitarian assistance:
a.
Providing safe havens in conflict areas;
b.
Ensuring the delivery of basic services or assistance to victims of
conflict;
c.
Orderly repatriation of refugees/displaced persons and resettlement of
internally displaced persons;
d.
Ensuring safety of humanitarian relief assistance workers;
e.
Promoting the role of humanitarian relief assistance organisations;
f.
Considering the establishment of an ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance
Centre; and
g.
Intensifying cooperation with the United Nations and other organisations/donor countries.
2.
Developing cooperation in post-conflict reconstruction and
rehabilitation in affected areas by:
a.
Undertaking human resources development and capacity building;
b. Assisting
in institutional building and promoting popular participation;
c.
Reducing inter-communal tensions through educational exchanges and
curriculum reform; and
d. Increasing
cooperation in reconciliation and promotion of a culture of peace.
3.
Establishing a mechanism to mobilise necessary
resources to facilitate post-conflict peace building (e.g. a Stability Fund),
including through cooperation with donor countries and international
institutions.