CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
THE FIRST ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM
Bangkok, 25 July 1994
1. The First Meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was held in
Bangkok on 25 July 1994 in accordance with the 1992 Singapore Declaration
of the Fourth ASEAN Summit, whereby the ASEAN Heads of State and Government
proclaimed their intent to intensify ASEAN's external dialogues in political
and security matters as a means of building cooperative ties with states
in the Asia-Pacific region.
2. Attending the Meeting were the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN, ASEAN's
Dialogue Partners, ASEAN's Consultative Partners, and ASEAN's Observers
or their representatives.' The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand,
served as Chairman of the Meeting.
3. Being the first time ever that high-ranking representatives from
the majority of states in the Asia-Pacific region came to specifically
discuss political and security cooperation issues, the Meeting was considered
a historic event for the region. More importantly, the Meeting signified
the opening of a new chapter of peace, stability and cooperation for Southeast
Asia.
4. The participants of the Meeting held a productive exchange of views
on the current political and security situation in the Asia-Pacific region,
recognizing that developments in one part of the region could have an impact
on the security of the region as whole. It was agreed that, as a high-level
consultative forum, the ARF had enabled the countries in the Asia-Pacific
region to foster the habit of constructive dialogue and consultation on
political and security issues of common interest and concern. In this respect,
the ARF would be in a position to make significant contributions to efforts
towards confidence-building and preventive diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific
region.
5. Bearing in mind the importance of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons
in the maintenance of international peace and security, the Meeting welcomed
the continuation of US-DPRK negotiation and endorsed the early resumption
of inter-Korean dialogue.
6. The Meeting agreed to:
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convene the ARF on an annual basis and hold the second meeting in Brunei
Darussalam in 1995; and
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endorse the purposes and principles of ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation
in Southeast Asia, as a code of conduct governing relations between states
and a unique diplomatic instrument for regional confidence-building, preventive
diplomacy, and political and security cooperation.
7. The Meeting also agreed to entrust the next Chairman of the ARF Brunei
Darussalam, working in consultation with ARF participants a appropriate,
to:
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collate and study all papers and ideas raised during the ARF Senior Officials
Meeting and the ARF in Bangkok for submission to the second ARF through
the second ARF-SOM, both of which to be held in Brunei Darussalam. Ideas
which might be the subjects of such further study including confidence
and security building, nuclear non-proliferation, peacekeeping cooperation
including regional peacekeeping training centre, exchanges of non classified
military information, maritime security issues, and preventive diplomacy;
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study the comprehensive concept of security, including its economic and
social aspects, as it pertains to the Asia-Pacific region;
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study other relevant internationally recognized norms and principles pertaining
to international and regional political and security cooperation for their
possible contribution to regional political and security cooperation;
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promote the eventual participation of all ARF countries in the UN Conventional
Arms Register; and
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convene, if necessary, informal meetings of officials to study all relevant
papers and suggestions to move the ARF process forward.
8. Recognizing the need to develop a more predictable constructive pattern
of relationships for the Asia-Pacific region, the Meeting expressed its
firm conviction to continue to work towards the strengths and the enhancement
of political and security cooperation within the region as a means of ensuring
a lasting peace, stability, and prosperity for the region and its peoples.
Note
ASEAN consists of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,
Singapore, and Thailand. ASEAN's Dialogue Partners are: Australia, Canada,
the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, and the United
States. ASEAN's Consultative Partners are China and Russia. And, ASEAN's
Observers are Laos, Papua New Guinea, and Vietnam.