ASEAN Condemns N. Korea

Korea-ASEAN Summit considered a huge success in terms of both economic and security cooperation

The Korea-ASEAN Commemorative Summit concluded its sessions on June 2 at the ICC Jeju, attended by President Lee Myung-bak and 10 leaders from ASEAN member countries, with the adoption of a 40-point joint statement. The joint statement included the condemnation of North Korea for its nuclear experiment and urging it to return to the Six-Party Talks as well as upgrading economic cooperation between Korea and ASEAN, a huge diplomatic victory for Korea, as ASEAN maintains diplomatic relations with both Koreas.
President Lee and Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiba jointly presided over the summit under the theme of “Partnership for Real, Friendship for Good.” The participating leaders discussed the future direction of relations.
President Lee and other heads of state and governments from ASEAN gave a high evaluation to the fact that the Korea-ASEAN relationship has steadily progressed over the past 20 years since the establishment of a dialogue partnership in 1989.
President Lee declared that Korea-ASEAN have now become companions for co-prosperity sharing a warm friendship. The Korean Chief Executive said ASEAN, now the third largest trading partner for Korea, would become a bigger market for Korea than the European Union in 2015 when its integration is completed.
Korea welcomed the fact that its accession to the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in 1994 and to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) in 2004 has contributed to regional stability. ASEAN has emerged as the third largest trading partner for Korea and the second biggest investment destination. It also pointed out that some four million people are traveling back and forth between the two regions annually and that cultural and people-to-people exchanges are on the rapid increase, including the spread of the Korean Wave.
Korea, in particular, expressed satisfaction at the fact that bilateral cooperation has been institutionalized through the conclusion of the Korea-ASEAN FTA and the establishment of the ASEAN-Korea Center.
After President Lee and other ASEAN leaders discussed the future direction of Korea-ASEAN cooperation, they adopted three documents, including the ROK Initiative on Cultural and People-to-People Exchange Cooperation with ASEAN, the ROK Initiative on Development Cooperation with ASEAN and the ROK Initiative on Low-Carbon, Green Growth Cooperation with ASEAN.
President Lee explained to the participating leaders how he would like to push forward with his New Asia Initiative focusing on the reinforcement of diplomacy toward ASEAN. In response, ASEAN heads of state and government expressed enthusiastic support for the idea of the initiative.
President Lee and ASEAN leaders reached an agreement to work to increase bilateral trade, which amounted to $90.2 billion in 2008.
When it came to development cooperation, President Lee gave a presentation on the Korean government's efforts to share Korea's experiences, including increasing Korea's ODA contribution to ASEAN and the implementation of an overseas volunteer program for industrial trainees from ASEAN nations. In response, ASEAN leaders whole-heartedly welcomed Korea's contributions and hoped that collaboration in the area would continue to evolve.
Regarding regular cultural interaction and people-to-people exchanges, President Lee said that the ASEAN-ROK Special Cooperation Fund (SCF) would be increased and the government scholarship program, “Global Korea Scholarship,” would be expanded in a bid to strengthen two-day cultural interactions. ASEAN leaders expressed a consensus on the significance of cultural interaction and people-to-people exchanges. In this sense, they promised to actively support the activities of the ASEAN-Korea Center.
President Lee and his ASEAN counterparts recognized the fact that the recent nuclear test by North Korea is a provocative act in violation of the resolution of the UN Security Council and the agreements reached at the Six-Party Talks and it seriously undermines the peace and stability not only in East Asia, but also in the whole world. In this regard, they exhorted the North to faithfully comply with UN Security Council resolutions and to promptly return to the Six Party Talks.
Korea-ASEAN Economic Cooperation Forum:
The forum took place at Jeju National University on June 1 and was attended by some 200 officials and ASEAN specialists. The participants included civil servants from the Korean Government as well as ASEAN member nations and relevant officials from international organizations, the Export-Import Bank of Korea and the Federation of Korean Industries. Also on hand were Korean Minister of Strategy and Finance Yoon Jeung-hyun, Indonesian Minister of Trade Mari Pangestu, Cambodian Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh, Undersecretary Jeremias N. Paul of the Department of Finance of the Philippines and Deputy Director-General Klaus Gerhaeusser of the East Asia Department of the Asian Development Bank.
Held on the occasion of the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit, the forum was intended to further bolster economic cooperation between Korea and ASEAN. The forum also provided a venue for the participants to discuss how to implement President Lee Myung-bak's New Asia Initiative in the economic sector.
The discussions at the forum mainly focused on the effects of the global economic crisis on the ASEAN economies and ways to boost Korea-ASEAN economic collaboration. The participants also shared ideas on such issues as sustainable growth, financial cooperation, knowledge sharing and inter-regional cooperation. The forum is expected to promote Korea-ASEAN economic cooperative ties, thereby enhancing the significance of the commemorative summit on Jeju Island.
On the sidelines of the Summit, Korea-ASEAN concluded the FTA by the signing of the agreement on investment by the trade ministers of ASEAN and Korea. The agreement is considered much better than those with Japan, Australia and New Zealand, Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon said. The agreement includes provisions for the general treatment of investments, which is designed to protect both investors and investments, upgrading transparency and regulations for the ISD, a process to resolve conflicts between host governments and investors when investments incur losses.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the FTA investment agreement with ASEAN provides the highest protection for investments, more than the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement. The investment agreement, along with the agreements on commodity trade and services, gives Korea a framework to conclude a free trade zone agreement with ASEAN.
On June 2, at the end of the session on the second day of the Summit, the heads of state adopted a joint 40-point statement. President Lee presented his vision and philosophy on green growth strategies and resolving the global financial crisis and was able to have the leaders agree on ways to cooperate with his strategies in wide-ranging areas. One of his great achievements was that he had the ASEAN leaders condemn North Korea's nuclear test in the joint statement. It was regarded as a huge triumph of Korea's diplomacy that it was able to get ASEAN to condemn the North and agree to cooperate with Korea's green growth strategies.
President Lee proposed the formation of an Asian bond market, noting that ASEAN and Korea, China and Japan hold 55 percent of total foreign exchange reserves in the world amounting to $3.7 trillion and most of the funds are used to buy bonds outside the region, when they should be invested in Asia to build a system to circulate the funds closer to home. He also called for the creation of a system to guarantee the issuance of bonds in the region so that the funds can be used to buy bonds issued by Asian countries, not just foreign bonds, mostly from the United States. The Korean president also pointed out that the carbon emissions by the 10-ASEAN member countries amount to only one-third of those of advanced countries and have been making a huge contribution to reforestation and clean energy development, attesting to the possibility that the region can be an advance base for green growth in cooperation with Korea.
He also pledged to give $200 million to the formation of an Asian forestry cooperative organization through the partnership on climate. nw

The heads of state from Korea and ASEAN countries pose during the Korea-ASEAN Commemorative Summit held on Jeju Island on May 31-June 2.

Korean President Lee Myung-bak gives a speech at the Korea-ASEAN Commemorative Summit.

The heads of state from Korea and ASEAN countries take a look at a solar panel installed at the Green Growth Pavilion at the venue of the Korea-ASEAN Commemorative Summit.

Photo by courtesy of the MCST