Database on
Basic Documents of Japan-ASEAN Relations
Department of
Advanced Social and International Studies,
WE, the Heads of State/Government of
Brunei Darussalam, Kingdom of Cambodia, Republic of Indonesia, Lao Peoplefs
Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Union of Myanmar, Republic of the Philippines,
Republic of Singapore, Kingdom of Thailand and Socialist Republic of Viet Nam,
Member Countries of ASEAN, on the occasion of the 11th ASEAN Summit in Kuala
Lumpur;
CONSCIOUS of the unity and diversity in
ASEAN and the existing ties of history, geography and culture that have bound
their peoples together;
RECOGNISING the ASEAN Declaration
(Bangkok Declaration) of 1967 as the founding document of ASEAN that represents
the collective will of the nations of Southeast Asia to bond themselves
together in friendship and cooperation and, through joint efforts and
sacrifices, secure for their peoples and for posterity the blessings of peace,
freedom and prosperity;
ACKNOWLEDGING that the vision, strategy
and initiative of ASEAN over the years have made an important contribution to
the maintenance of peace, security and stability of the region;
COGNISANT that mutual respect for the
independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national
identity of ASEAN Member Countries has fostered a positive environment for the
steady development of an ASEAN Community to meet the challenges of the future;
DESIRING to realise an ASEAN Community
as envisaged in the Declaration of ASEAN Concord II (Bali Concord II) and its
Plans of Action and Roadmap, and the ASEAN Vision 2020 which envision ASEAN as
a concert of Southeast Asian nations, outward-looking, living in peace,
stability and prosperity, bonded together in partnership in dynamic development
and in a community of caring societies;
RECOGNISING that the global and
regional economic and political environment has changed and is constantly
changing thereby requiring ASEAN and its community building efforts to evolve
and adapt to these changes and challenges;
RECOGNISING the importance of having an
appropriate institutional framework of ASEAN that is able to meet the
challenges of realising an ASEAN community;
CONVINCED of the need for an ASEAN
Charter to serve as a firm foundation for ASEAN in the years ahead and to
facilitate community building towards an ASEAN Community and beyond;
DO HEREBY DECLARE:
FIRST, we are committed to establish
the ASEAN Charter.
SECOND, the ASEAN Charter will serve as
a legal and institutional framework of ASEAN to support the realisation of its
goals and objectives.
THIRD, the ASEAN Charter will codify
all ASEAN norms, rules, and values and reaffirm that ASEAN agreements signed
and other instruments adopted before the establishment of the ASEAN Charter
shall continue to apply and be legally binding where appropriate.
FOURTH, the ASEAN Charter will reaffirm
principles, goals and ideals contained in ASEANfs milestone agreements, in
particular the ASEAN Declaration (1967), the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in
Southeast Asia (1976), the Treaty on Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone
(1995), the ASEAN Vision 2020 (1997) and the Declaration of ASEAN Concord II
(2003) as well as the principles of inter-state relations in accordance with
the UN Charter and established international law that promote and protect ASEAN
community interests as well as inter-state relations and the national interests
of the individual ASEAN Member Countries. These include among others:
Promotion of community interest for the
benefit of all ASEAN Member Countries;
Maintaining primary driving force of
ASEAN;
Narrowing the development gaps among
Member Countries;
Adherence to a set of common
socio-cultural and political community values and shared norms as contained in
the various ASEAN documents;
Continuing to foster a community of
caring societies and promote a common regional identity;
Effective implementation as well as
compliance with ASEANfs agreements;
Promotion of democracy, human rights
and obligations, transparency and good governance and strengthening democratic
institutions;
Ensuring that countries in the region
live at peace with one another and with the world at large in a just,
democratic and harmonious environment;
Decision making on the basis of
equality, mutual respect and consensus;
Commitment to strengthen ASEANfs
competitiveness, to deepen and broaden ASEANfs internal economic integration
and linkages with the world economy;
Promotion of regional solidarity and
cooperation;
Mutual respect for the independence,
sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity of all
nations;
Renunciation of nuclear weapons and
other weapons of mass destruction and avoidance of arms race;
Renunciation of the use of force and
threat to use of force; non-aggression and exclusive reliance on peaceful means
for the settlement of differences or disputes;
Enhancing beneficial relations between
ASEAN and its friends and partners;
Upholding non-discrimination of any
ASEAN Member Countries in ASEANfs external relations and cooperative
activities;
Observance of principles of
international law concerning friendly relations and cooperation among States;
and
The right of
every state to lead its national existence free from external interference,
subversion or coercion and non-interference in the internal affairs of one
another.
FIFTH, the ASEAN Charter will confer a
legal personality to ASEAN and determine the functions, develop areas of
competence of key ASEAN bodies and their relationship with one another in the
overall ASEAN structure.
AND DO HEREBY AGREE:
TO establish an Eminent Persons Group
(EPG), comprising highly distinguished and well respected citizens from ASEAN
Member Countries, with the mandate to examine and provide practical
recommendations on the directions and nature of the ASEAN Charter relevant to
the ASEAN Community as envisaged in the Bali Concord II and beyond, taking into
account, but not limited to, the principles, values and objectives as contained
in this Declaration.
TO consider their
recommendations at our subsequent meetings.
TO task our Ministers to establish, as
necessary, a High Level Task Force to carry out the drafting of the ASEAN
Charter based on the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Establishment of the ASEAN
Charter and the recommendations of the EPG.
DONE in
For
HAJI HASSANAL BOLKIAH
Sultan of
For the
SAMDECH HUN SEN
Prime Minister
For the
DR. SUSILO BAMBANG YUDHOYONO
President
For the Lao Peoplefs Democratic
Republic:
BOUNNHANG VORACHITH
Prime Minister
For
DATOf SERI ABDULLAH AHMAD BADAWI
Prime Minister
For the Union of
GENERAL SOE WIN
Prime Minister
For the Republic of the
GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
President
For the
LEE HSIEN LOONG
Prime Minister
For the
DR. THAKSIN SHINAWATRA
Prime Minister
For the
PHAN VAN KHAI
Prime Minister