On 6 May 2011, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya attended three preparatory meetings leading up to the 18th ASEAN Summit, namely, the 5th ASEAN Political-Security Community, ASEAN Ministerial Meeting and the 8th ASEAN Coordinating Council, in Jakarta Indonesia.
At its meeting, the ASEAN Political — Security Community Council reviewed activities under the ASEAN political-security pillar and the progress made in implementing the ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint. In his intervention, the Foreign Minister emphasized the need for closer coordination in the various fields of cooperation within the pillar which are interconnected and overlap with one another. These include ASEAN connectivity, regional architecture, disaster management, sea piracy, peacekeeping, arms advancement, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, and counter-terrorism. Towards this end, the Foreign Minister suggested that the ASEAN Secretary-General coordinate between the various bodies within the Political-Security pillar as well as proposed that that the various fields of cooperation be categorized and report back to the next meeting of the ASEAN Political-Security Community Council.
Foreign Minister Kasit also urged more concrete cooperation in the area of good governance in ASEAN. He expressed Thailand’s readiness to host the ASEAN Maritime Forum to promote regional security and maritime cooperation in Pattaya between 17 — 19 August 2011. In addition, he proposed enhanced sharing of information between member states about their planned nuclear power plant development projects, as a means to foster transparency, build confidence and address safety concerns in this area.
During the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, Foreign Minister Kasit highlighted the importance of cooperation in tackling the issues of migrant workers, the problem of widespread drug use among fishermen, human trafficking, and interfaith dialogue. Enhancing cooperation regarding the Bali Democracy Forum and the Bali Process to solve human trafficking was also highlighted, with Thailand standing ready to host workshops related to this issue. Furthermore, the meeting discussed Myanmar’s request to be the ASEAN Chair in 2014, an issue to be decided by the ASEAN leaders.
At the ASEAN Coordinating Council, the meeting considered documents to be endorsed at the 18th ASEAN Summit, including the Joint Statement on the ASEAN Community in a Global Community of Nations, the ASEAN Leaders’ Joint Statement on the Establishment of an ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation, and the ASEAN Leaders’ Joint Statement on Enhancing Cooperation in Trafficking in Persons in South East Asia. The meeting also considered a proposal to display the ASEAN flag along with member state’s flags from 8 August 2011 onwards, as well as Timor Leste's request for ASEAN membership.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th