Malaysian PM outlines road map for East Asia Community

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Monday outlined a seven-point road map with important milestones for charting the course and measuring the progress of the East Asia community.

Abdullah proposed the road map, which included the East Asia Summit, Charter of the East Asia Community, East Asia Free Trade Area, Agreement of East Asia Monetary and Financial Cooperation, East Asia Zone of Amity and Cooperation, East Asia Transportation and Communication Network, and East Asia Declaration of Human Rights and Obligations, in his keynote address when opening the Second East Asia Forum.

The one-day event was jointly organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the East Asian Business Council of Malaysia with a theme of "Towards an Integrated East Asian Community."

Firstly, the East Asia Summit, to be held in Malaysia in December next year, should carry and drive the process of building the East Asia community, Abdullah said at the opening ceremony, noting the Summit would send a powerful signal of the existence of trust and confidence among the countries in the region.

Secondly, he said, the Charter of the East Asia Community should be short in terms of words but profound in terms of concept and substance.

He said the charter should set out the promises, principles and objectives to guide the process of community building and the vision of East Asia as a community of peace, friendship, prosperity, development and progress.

Thirdly, he said, the East Asia Free Trade Area would be a challenging task for East Asian countries which have a combined gross domestic product of about 6.8 trillion US dollars and a population of more than two billion.

"The trade and investment opportunities are vast and the sooner we arrive at the milestone the better," he said.

In this connection, he said, ASEAN has already formalized the ASEAN Free Trade Area and has entered into a free trade agreement with China and would begin negotiations for a free trade area with South Korea soon.

With Japan, he said, a longer route is being taken with the framework for a comprehensive economic partnership although the ultimate aim is also to achieve a free trade agreement between the two sides.

Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), now grouping 10 states in the region, was set up in 1967 to boost regional cooperation.

"ASEAN + 3" mechanism involves cooperation among the 10 ASEAN countries and China, Japan and South Korea.

Fourthly, on the East Asia Zone of Amity and Cooperation, Abdullah said the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation would be important for the realization of a zone of amity and cooperation specially tailored for East Asia as a whole.

He said such a zone would guarantee respect for the rule of law, sovereignty, territorial integrity, good neighborliness, and equality among nations.

It should further renounce the use of threat or force, and enhance transparency in security matters, promote confidence-building among nations including the avoidance of an arms race and,ideally, exclude weapons of mass destruction from the zone, he said.

Fifthly, on the East Asia Transportation and Communication Network, Abdullah said it should include facilities not only for the physical movement of people and merchandise but also electronic connection between peoples and countries.

On the Agreement of the East Asia Monetary and Financial Cooperation, he said East Asia has already gone a long way in this area, and the reasons were obvious and sound and the logic, compelling.

Finally, on the East Asia Declaration of Human Rights and Obligations, Abdullah said, the East Asian community would undoubtedly be required to deliberate and establish its own standard on issues.

In this connection, the highest priority should be given to the eradication of poverty throughout East Asia, he said.

Government officials, representatives of the private sector and scholars from the "ASEAN + 3" countries are attending the one-day forum.

During the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos, last month, the "ASEAN + 3" countries agreed to hold the first East Asia Summit in Malaysia next year.