ID :
71228
Mon, 07/20/2009 - 22:40
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/71228
The shortlink copeid
BE AN ACTION COMMUNITY, THAI PM TELLS ASEAN
By D. Arul Rajoo
PHUKET, July 20 (Bernama) -- An action-based regional community that is able
to act decisively and in a timely manner, replacing extended deliberation should
be the type of "Asean Community in 2015", Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva
said Monday.
He said a "community of action" must show to the world that the 10-member
regional grouping, reported to be having over 700 meetings annually, was ready
to meet any challenge and was well-prepared to act decisively to help reinforce
Asean centrality.
"Asean must be able to act decisively and in a timely manner to address both
internal and external threats and challenges to the security and welfare of its
member states and peoples. Effective action must replace extended deliberation,"
he said at the opening the 42nd Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) here.
Foreign Minister Anifah Aman is leading a Malaysian delegation here.
For instance, Abhisit said, if there was a major pandemic spreading across
the
region, public health agencies must be able to set up quarantine and inspection
measures, share information and laboratory results, mobilise volunteers and
vaccines on a region-wide basis through common procedures and arrangements that
could be quickly activated.
"Or, when there is an emergency somewhere within our region or beyond, and a
request is made for assistance, Asean must be able to effectively respond as a
group and in a timely manner," said the current Asean chairman.
The Community of 2015 should also be a "Community of Connectivity" where
goods and peoples, investments and initiatives, could travel obstacle-free
throughout the region -– from Sumatra to Luzon, from the Ayeyawady Delta to the
Mekong Delta, he said.
"A fully-integrated Asean economy as a single market and production base
must have such connectivity built into both its hardware and software," he said,
adding that the region-wide transportation linkages must be in place and
user-friendly.
On the software side, he said, there should be harmonisation of relevant
rules and regulations governing region-wide transportation, trade and
investment, and proposed visa-free within the region and offer an Asean Single
Visa for those outside the region.
According to Abhisit, only through a well-connected community can Asean
realise its full economic potential, as well as take maximum advantage of its
strategic location linking the massive economies of South Asia on its West and
Northeast Asia to its North.
The AMM and the subsequent Post-Ministerial Conferences (PMC) and the Asean
Regional Forum (ARF) are the first Asean meetings to be held by the country
after a huge humiliation in April where the host was forced to abort the East
Asian Summit in Pattaya after thousands of anti-government protesters stormed
the venue.
Thousands of soldiers and police stood guard around the island, especially
routes to the meeting venue at Laguna Phuket where bomb detectors were used to
scan incoming vehicles and numerous road blockades were set up. So far, the
meetings went on without any sign of protest.
-- BERNAMA
PHUKET, July 20 (Bernama) -- An action-based regional community that is able
to act decisively and in a timely manner, replacing extended deliberation should
be the type of "Asean Community in 2015", Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva
said Monday.
He said a "community of action" must show to the world that the 10-member
regional grouping, reported to be having over 700 meetings annually, was ready
to meet any challenge and was well-prepared to act decisively to help reinforce
Asean centrality.
"Asean must be able to act decisively and in a timely manner to address both
internal and external threats and challenges to the security and welfare of its
member states and peoples. Effective action must replace extended deliberation,"
he said at the opening the 42nd Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) here.
Foreign Minister Anifah Aman is leading a Malaysian delegation here.
For instance, Abhisit said, if there was a major pandemic spreading across
the
region, public health agencies must be able to set up quarantine and inspection
measures, share information and laboratory results, mobilise volunteers and
vaccines on a region-wide basis through common procedures and arrangements that
could be quickly activated.
"Or, when there is an emergency somewhere within our region or beyond, and a
request is made for assistance, Asean must be able to effectively respond as a
group and in a timely manner," said the current Asean chairman.
The Community of 2015 should also be a "Community of Connectivity" where
goods and peoples, investments and initiatives, could travel obstacle-free
throughout the region -– from Sumatra to Luzon, from the Ayeyawady Delta to the
Mekong Delta, he said.
"A fully-integrated Asean economy as a single market and production base
must have such connectivity built into both its hardware and software," he said,
adding that the region-wide transportation linkages must be in place and
user-friendly.
On the software side, he said, there should be harmonisation of relevant
rules and regulations governing region-wide transportation, trade and
investment, and proposed visa-free within the region and offer an Asean Single
Visa for those outside the region.
According to Abhisit, only through a well-connected community can Asean
realise its full economic potential, as well as take maximum advantage of its
strategic location linking the massive economies of South Asia on its West and
Northeast Asia to its North.
The AMM and the subsequent Post-Ministerial Conferences (PMC) and the Asean
Regional Forum (ARF) are the first Asean meetings to be held by the country
after a huge humiliation in April where the host was forced to abort the East
Asian Summit in Pattaya after thousands of anti-government protesters stormed
the venue.
Thousands of soldiers and police stood guard around the island, especially
routes to the meeting venue at Laguna Phuket where bomb detectors were used to
scan incoming vehicles and numerous road blockades were set up. So far, the
meetings went on without any sign of protest.
-- BERNAMA
