WE, the Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Australia, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the Russian Federation and the United States of America, on the occasion of the 14th East Asia Summit (EAS) in Bangkok, Thailand, on 4 November 2019;
REITERATING our support for the ASEAN Community building process and reaffirming ASEAN’s central role in the EAS, to ensure that the EAS would continue to be an integral component of the evolving regional architecture, through ASEAN-led processes; ACKNOWLEDGING the importance of the EAS Participating Countries in collaborative efforts of promoting a peaceful, resilient and sustainable region with sustained economic growth and sustainable development would contribute to the long-term stability, well-being of the peoples, and prosperity of the region;
EMPHASISING that the East Asia Summit, sitting at the apex of the ASEAN-centred regional architecture, will continue to be a Leaders-led forum for dialogue on broad strategic, political, and economic issues of common interest and concern with the aim of promoting peace, stability and economic prosperity in East Asia and can contribute to the promotion of sustainability in various dimensions within the region;
REAFFIRMING the commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted on 25 September 2015 at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015 in New York and further acknowledged at the SDG Summit 2019 held on 24-25 September 2019 in New York;
UNDERLINING the complementarities between the ASEAN Vision 2025 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to commit to leave no one behind and to uplift the standards of living of the peoples in the region;
UNDERLINING the principles contained in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) and in the Declaration of the East Asia Summit on the Principles for Mutually Beneficial Relations (Bali Principles) as principles for further enhancing regional cooperation;
REITERATING the EAS’s support for ASEAN’s aspiration towards establishing a truly rules-based, people-oriented, and people-centred ASEAN Community that engages and benefits the peoples, and is inclusive, sustainable, resilient, and dynamic;
RECALLING our commitment as stated in the Manila Plan of Action to Advance the Phnom Penh Declaration on the East Asia Summit Development Initiative (2018 – 2022) to work toward further mainstreaming sustainable development at all levels and in all dimensions, as well as promoting balanced, inclusive and sustainable approaches;
REAFFIRMING the need to promote sustainable, high quality infrastructure in accordance with broadly accepted international principles, to facilitate trade, investment and service competitiveness in the region, and noting the Vientiane Declaration on Promoting Infrastructure Development Cooperation in East Asia adopted at the 11th East Asia Summit in 2016;
NOTING the importance of efforts to enhance the sustainability of agriculture and food production systems, including for palm oil plantation and its related industries as part of the regional and international efforts to achieve sustainable development;
RECOGNISING the work to promote sustainable development done by other sub-regional, regional and global organisations, including the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific;
1. ADVANCE partnership in promoting sustainability in all dimensions within the region in order to reinforce a people-centred ASEAN Community that leaves no one behind, looks to the future and is better prepared for challenges and uncertainties in the rapid changing regional and global environment;
2. PROMOTE sustainable security in the region by reinforcing trust and confidence building in the wider Asia-Pacific region, reaffirming the principles of the TAC and in the Bali Principles, including principles of non-interference in internal affairs, settlement of differences and disputes by peaceful means, without resorting to the use of force, and respect for international law, as well as its application to the region;
3. ENHANCE efforts for the implementation of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025 as well as promotion of border trade and economic cooperation linkages through, among others, capacity building and resource mobilisation;
4. STRENGTHEN cooperation in the area of border management to better maximise the opportunities that come along with economic integration, enhanced connectivity, the free flow of goods and services across borders, and people-to-people linkages;
5. REAFFIRM our commitment to combat illicit trafficking of wildlife as indicated in the 2014 EAS Declaration on Combating Wildlife Trafficking;
6. ENHANCE efforts at reducing poverty, promoting food and water security, ensuring access to safe water and sanitation, and improving air quality for all with a view to promoting better quality of life for the peoples in the whole region;
7. STRENGTHEN cooperation among EAS participating countries, regional and international organisations to combat infectious disease outbreaks, including through promoting coordinated preparedness, detection and response initiatives in accordance with World Health Organization International Health Regulations (2005) and information sharing on anti-microbial resistance;
8. STRENGTHEN the regional preparedness to deal with the trends of an ageing society including through development of an ASEAN Centre for Active Ageing and Innovation, and promote better social safety nets in the region through the development of an ASEAN Training Centre for Social Work and Social Welfare;
9. ENHANCE cooperation to promote sustainable economic growth through the provision of appropriate support for the empowerment of MSMEs by strengthening financial collaboration to create new opportunities through financial innovation and risk management, and by promoting regional competitiveness and sustainable supply chains and striving to realise a free, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent, predictable and stable trade and investment and environment and to keep our markets open, in order to achieve strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth in the Fourth Industrial Revolution;
10. PROMOTE diversified finance for sustainable economic growth, including bank and capital markets financing, by leveraging existing platforms and recognising the importance of finance in ensuring and improving economic efficiency, prosperity and competitiveness in the region, protecting the environment, and enhancing cultural diversity, decent work and social well-being;
11. PROMOTE cooperation among EAS participating countries and partnership with relevant stakeholders in order to achieve decent work and promote employment opportunities and rights at work;
12. PROMOTE sustainable development cooperation and collaboration in the region by forging greater synergies and enhanced partnerships among the EAS participating countries and with regional and international organisations;
13. ACKNOWLEDGE the role of sustainable and integrated water resources management and various agricultural activities in ASEAN Member States in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in this regard call for stronger cooperation in this area;
14. WORK TOGETHER to reduce development gaps in the region by supporting the effective implementation of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Work Plan III and its successor documents as well as the development of links and synergies with other regional and sub-regional initiatives and frameworks;
15. SUPPORT the ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue in Thailand as a regional facility on research and studies and a platform for policy dialogue among ASEAN Member States and with ASEAN’s external partners, including by developing and implementing concrete projects with the Centre for the benefit of the region;
16. CONTINUE cooperation and concrete effort toward ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, including by facilitating access to clean and low emission energy research and technology, to contribute to the region’s and the world’s economic growth, environmental protection, sustainability and resilience;
17. ENHANCE collaboration on energy efficiency and conservation, promotion of renewable energy and effective use of all energy sources, development and deployment of advanced cleaner and lower emission technologies including through competitive trade, open and transparent markets, increasing public awareness, and creation of favourable conditions for public and private investments in R&D while reaffirming the importance of enhancing regional energy security and diversification of energy supply, taking into account each country’s national circumstances;
18. FOSTER closer cooperation among the EAS participating countries, regional and international organisations to strengthen the region’s capabilities to reduce the risk of, and to respond to, natural disasters, including those that may be exacerbated by climate change, including through promoting disaster risk reduction initiatives and international support for the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre), the Disaster Emergency Logistics System for ASEAN (DELSA), the ASEAN Centre of Military Medicine (ACMM), and the operationalisation of the ASEAN Declaration on One ASEAN, One Response;
19. FURTHER EXPLORE ways to synergise all connectivity initiatives, policies, frameworks, and Master Plans in the region by using the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025 as the basis for strengthening regional physical, institutional and people-to-people linkages to enhance regional connectivity;
20. PROMOTE digital integration towards a digitally enabled economy that is secure, sustainable, and transformative; responds effectively to the Fourth Industrial Revolution; and therefore enables an innovative, inclusive and integrated ASEAN Community;
21. INTENSIFY efforts in the protection and conservation of the marine environment by contributing to the reduction of marine pollution in particular through integrated land-to-sea approach and the development of appropriate policies on marine plastic debris, sharing technologies and expertise and promoting resource efficiency, including circular economy, product life-cycle management, sustainable materials management, and reduce, reuse, recycle (“3R”) approaches, as appropriate, while enhan
22. ENCOURAGE cooperation to promote sustainable fisheries and address the issue of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing including through existing ASEAN-led mechanisms, recognising the importance of the WTO fisheries subsidies negotiation;
23. PROMOTE cooperation on sustainable forest management by improving forest and land management to preserve forest cover, prevent biodiversity loss, and monitor carbon stocks and emissions by EAS participating countries;
24. PROMOTE cooperation on environmental management to meet the socio-economic and cultural needs of present and future generations and contribute positively to sustainable development;
25. CONTINUE to work with the international community to enhance cooperation in preventing illegal transboundary movement of hazardous chemicals and wastes;
26. PROMOTE and ENHANCE educational partnerships to develop skills, values, and behaviours that advocate sustainable development;
27. ENSURE continued support for the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN) and ASEAN Cooperation on Environmentally Sustainable Cities which include developing inclusive smart infrastructure as important catalysts for sustainable development;
28. PROMOTE efforts to address gender inequalities and establish gender mainstreaming in all areas of sustainable development;
29. CONTINUE to promote sustainable tourism and further facilitate people-to-people exchanges and cultural links, with a view to enhancing mutual understanding and awareness of cultural differences and identities;
30. ENHANCE the role of ASEAN-centred regional mechanisms, in particular the EAS, as an integral part of the evolving regional architecture in enhancing the sustainability and prosperity of the region.
ADOPTED in Bangkok, the Kingdom of Thailand, on the Fourth of November in the Year Two Thousand and Nineteen.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs