President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's Speech During the Opening Ceremony of the 40th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting

http://www.aseansec.org/20758.htm

Thank you very much, Secretary Romulo.

Foreign Ministers of the ASEAN Member Nations as well as Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste; ASEAN Secretary General Ong Keng Yong; excellencies of the diplomatic corps; Speaker de Venecia; members of the Philippine senate; Senator Angara, former Senate President of the Philippines; Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Chairwoman of the Committee on Foreign Relations and our Philippine nominee to the International Court of Justice; (applause) Mayor of Manila, Mayor Fred Lim; Vice Mayor of Pasay City, Vice Mayor Calixto; members of the cabinet and other government officials; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

A warm Filipino welcome to our ASEAN partners and allies from all over the world. Mabuhay!

Once more, we are gathered to set the course for our region. you come at a time in our history when we have made international relations a centerpiece of our economic agenda.

Our relations have never been stronger, from bilateral to multilateral relations, in our never-ending saga of cooperation, solidarity, fighting poverty and winning collective security.

During the ASEAN Summit in January, which we hosted in Cebu, we took several important steps that put us squarely on the path to create a regional community by 2015. most notably we issued the Declaration on the ASEAN Charter.

At a time of uncertainty in the world, ASEAN took a bold step forward by endorsing an ASEAN Charter that will expand and strengthen ASEAN. As chair of ASEAN, we were delighted that our fellow leaders seized the moment in history to do the right thing. That ASEAN brought so many nations and leaders together to discuss peace, security and social justice and economic growth is a testament to the desire of leaders and their people for greater collaboration between nations.

In behalf of the Filipino people, I thank you for the privilege to lead the organization in search of one caring and sharing community, a regional community in the full sense of the word by 2015.

Building the ASEAN community and voice is a long-term endeavor. There are no short cuts or quick fixes. But we are determined and will persevere to build a community that will provide a more secure, stable and prosperous life for all people.

Our collective desire to bring social justice, economic opportunity and integrated security to the region is our common ground. The declaration on the ASEAN Charter is testament to our commitment to become one, single united front.

I commend to you the important task of following through on the commitments we made at the summit in Cebu and I express my full confidence in our capacity to carry on.

An ASEAN community is clearly going to be anchored, first and foremost, on economic integration with a focus on social justice and raising the standard of living of the poor in the region. to that end, developing ASEAN is more than creating a regional community -- it is about creating a dynamic force in Asia to maximize the benefits of globalization. We are actively strengthening our economic linkages not only within the region, but also with our dialogue partners including Japan, China, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

For ASEAN to become a true expanding union, it must continue to nurture its relations especially with key partners China, Japan and South Korea. Deepening integration on this level would mean completing and eventually forging the individual free trade agreements ASEAN is currently working out with these "plus three" countries.

We are happy to note that the free trade agreements between ASEAN and China, as well as that between ASEAN and Korea, are moving into their final stages. It is now up to the ASEAN Member Countries to individually ratify the two FTAs. Negotiations on the FTA with Japan also hold a lot of promise. We hope that those involved in the negotiations would find the resolve to agree on the finer points of the draft FTA.

The rise of China and of India as major economic powers provides us with fresh competition as well as cooperation.

On the other hand, the WTO's Doha Development Round has stalled, making it more difficult to agree on new global trade rules, but also underscoring the importance of regional arrangements to maintain the pace of our trading growth.

We have demonstrated our collective voice through our call in support of reviving and revising the Doha round. We have called for the round to expand global trade and investment for the benefit of all.

At a time in the world when there are strains on alliances from Iraq to WTO, it is essential that new, vital alliances will be forged to keep the world stable and strong. Some sort of East Asia community will be a bold step in that direction.

The question isn't whether an East Asia community is necessary. The question is, will we be stronger with a more united region? I believe the answer to that is clear: each member nation and the entire region will benefit. An East Asia community will strengthen our economy, security and prosperity.

There is general consensus that the idea of an East Asian community has a more political, rather than geographic definition. In the process of establishing the East Asia community, we look to the engagement of all the parties that have a stake in East Asia.

Community building is a long process. The E.U. took 50 years to reach its present stage of integration. Too much has been made of our diversity as a barrier. Our diversity is a strength and not a barrier to an East Asian union.

Historically, the European Union has shown how a region beset by conflict can become a force for peace and prosperity. So too in our region that has faced many of the same historic divisions. A more united region will aid in the same. ASEAN has proven that it can make a difference for peace and security in Asia and will continue to do more as it builds toward an ASEAN community by 2015.

The meeting of the 14th ASEAN Regional Forum three days from now will be equally important. ARF has been successful in establishing confidence- building measures among its 27 participating countries. The challenge before the ARF right now is to move to preventive diplomacy to be able to "nip the bud" in any potential conflicts arising and causing disputes among its members.

ASEAN is just but part of a larger regional community and the global community. Therefore, our community must contribute to the transformation of our region and the world. However, even while we pursue this task, ASEAN should also be at the heart of developments in Asia.

Asia has the brightest potential for progressing economically. And as I said earlier, the rise of China and India -- the two most populated countries in the world -- as global economic powerhouse has opened a lot of opportunities and challenges for all the countries in the region. Japan, of course, remains to be the second largest economy in the world and will also significantly influence the course of development in Asia.

If we are to turn this century into an Asian century, we must be able to capitalize on opportunities and strengths of Asia. It must allow other countries that have substantial stake in the region to participate in its development. Therefore, our six dialogue partners: India, Australia, New Zealand, included in the concept of a larger East Asia. Even Russia, which has an Asian side, can be part of it when the right time comes and should eventually lead to this Asian community. It is, therefore, in our interest to sustain their momentum, nurture them and widen their areas of cooperation. We must, however, complement these processes with a regional security framework that will allow us to pursue our regional economic agenda.

ASEAN must also continue to point the way ahead in regional security cooperation, from Cambodia to East Timor, and from the South China Sea to the Korean peninsula. The ASEAN Regional Forum remains the only all-inclusive conclave for addressing regional security issues in the Asia-pacific.

As ASEAN and ARF chair, we convey the hope of ASEAN members and other countries for the continued stability, peace and prosperity of the region.

During the ASEAN Summit in Cebu, we as a region expressed grave concern over developments on the Korean peninsula. We support a diplomatic and peaceful solution to the nuclear issue.

I am sure I speak for all of the ASEAN states in expressing that we are encouraged that the six party talks aimed at resolving the Korean peninsula nuclear issue, have resumed.

We welcome the confirmed shutdown of the Yongbyon nuclear reactor and the return of U.N. inspectors to Pyongyang. These developments are historic milestones in the six-party talks process. The series of positive developments inspire confidence that the six countries and major world players are exerting all they can to bring lasting stability and peace to the region.

We commend the parties for their progress so far and for their commitment and dedication.

But while the talks have been moving forward, much remains to be done.

The ARF this week is a forum where all members of the six party talks will gather. It offers them a venue to promote and advance negotiations. We in ASEAN stand ready to do whatever we can to advance regional security and stability. And on the part of the Philippines, until our last day as chair of ASEAN, we will continue to strengthen our collective stake in a stable Korean peninsula.
We did not, however, let these potential conflicts and transnational problems divide us. Our strong adherence to the spirits of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, to which we all have acceded to, has enabled us to settle our disputes through peaceful means.

We are now reaping the dividends of regional peace. It has allowed member countries to devote time and allocate resources to pursue the path of economic growth during the last four decades. And I'm very glad that fifteen years ago, we established the ASEAN Free Trade Area which began the integration of our economies. Today, we are well on our way to creating ASEAN into a single market and production base.

ASEAN is now faced with more complex challenges than those that our founding fathers had to deal with. What started out as a simple association is now trying to evolve into an ASEAN community that is politically cohesive, economically integrated and socially responsible.
Building an ASEAN community is no easy task. ASEAN is fortunate to have its dialogue partners in this effort.

We have realized the imperative of having an ASEAN community if we are to stay relevant in this age of globalization. This is the reason, we decided at the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu to accelerate the establishment of the ASEAN community to 2015 from 2020. Our goal is to realize our resources and potentials to turn our region into one of the most dynamic in the world.

ASEAN has been a force for regional peace and progress for forty years. The task ahead is how sustain this role for the next forty years in an era of growing regionalism and deepening globalization.
The 12th ASEAN Summit to today's 40th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting have all been geared towards this end. In a region that is getting deeper into integration, there is the danger of losing sight of the very essence of a community helping each other. This is not a race of who gets richer first. A community is about growing and prospering together.

If we are able to succeed in building such a caring and sharing community, our future generations will look back to this 40th year of ASEAN, the 12th ASEAN Summit, the 40th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting as the start of it all, having worked together for the past 40 years.
For the past 40 years, ASEAN Member Countries have created our own shared history, in the same manner that we are keenly aware of our common destiny. It is this awareness that has led us to make a conscious decision to create a community, where there is unity in diversity, and which we envision to be one caring and sharing community.

Once more, to all of you, welcome and mabuhay!