Speeches

US-ASEAN Business Council:  2007 U.S. Ambassadors' Tour
Asia Pacific Business Outlook (APBO) Conference
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

ASEAN Plenary Session:
"Singapore's Goals as ASEAN Chair"
by
Ambassador Patricia Herbold
March 25, 2007

 

I'm delighted to speak to you about recent developments in the U.S. relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN.  The timing couldn't be better -- there is a lot going on.  Let me start by summarizing the promising news in three different dimensions.

First, this is a big year for ASEAN.  During their January Summit in Cebu, the Philippines, ASEAN's leaders endorsed a plan to complete a Charter in the coming months.  They also agreed to forge ahead with creation of an ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.  More on these major initiatives in a moment.

Second, this is a big year for U.S.-ASEAN relations.   Not only does 2007 mark ASEAN's fortieth anniversary, but it is also the thirtieth anniversary of our U.S.-ASEAN dialogue.  Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill will host this year's dialogue in Washington, D.C. on June 21.

A little later, I'll describe several initiatives we're working on to strengthen our ties to Southeast Asia's premier trade and security organization.

Third, it's a big year for Singapore.  Singapore takes over the chairmanship of the ASEAN Standing Committee in July, and will host the 13th ASEAN Leaders Summit in November.  Singapore is also our current dialogue partner and therefore the key conduit through which we promote our agenda with ASEAN.

Let me start with a look at the major initiatives in ASEAN.  Over the past forty years, ASEAN has been successful in building confidence among its members.  This approach has relied on a mix of consensus-based decision-making and non-interference.

Today, ASEAN finds itself at a crossroads in a changing region.  It is seeking ways to become a more effective organization, one that will be a stronger partner in dealing with China, India, the United States, and others.

ASEAN Charter

This reform objective underlies Singapore's and other members' keen interest in promoting the ASEAN Charter, which will serve as the legal and institutional framework for the organization as it moves towards greater integration and an ASEAN Community.  ASEAN hopes to complete the Charter in time for its Leaders Summit in November.  The Charter could bring major changes to how ASEAN operates.

ASEAN's leaders agreed to pursue a Charter more than two years ago.  As part of this process, they created an Eminent Persons Group – consisting of senior representatives from each of the ASEAN states – who were asked to make "bold and visionary" recommendations on what should go into the Charter.

During their Summit in the Philippines in January, ASEAN's leaders endorsed the Eminent Persons Group's report, including its 28 recommendations, and tasked a High Level Task Force to begin drafting the Charter.

Among these recommendations are the "strengthening of democratic values, good governance, rejection of unconstitutional and undemocratic changes of government, respect of the rule of law, including international humanitarian law, human rights, and fundamental freedoms."

The Eminent Persons Group also recommended the creation of two new processes:   a dispute resolution mechanism and a means to discipline members that violate the association's rules and regulations.  In terms of decision-making, the Group advised ASEAN to begin working towards a system that relies less on consensus building and more on voting and binding agreements.

I think you'll agree that these are ambitious objectives.  However, Singapore is confident that it can guide this process to completion, not least because ASEAN's leaders have endorsed the November 2007 timeframe.

ASEAN Economic Community

In addition to the Charter, ASEAN will continue to promote development of an ASEAN Economic Community, or AEC, by 2015.

The AEC envisions a stable, prosperous, and highly competitive ASEAN economic region in which there is a free flow of goods, services and investment; a freer flow of capital, equitable economic development; and reduced poverty and socio-economic disparities.

ASEAN is committed to concluding an AEC Blueprint before the end of the year.  The Blueprint will provide an implementation roadmap for the AEC beyond the broad points that ASEAN's leaders have already endorsed.

In keeping with the spirit of the proposed Charter, the Blueprint will include a dispute resolution mechanism and is designed to move ASEAN towards a rules-based system.

In addition, ASEAN will push to conclude some of its ongoing free trade agreement negotiations, in particular those with South Korea, Japan, India, and jointly with Australia and New Zealand.  In the short term, ASEAN hopes to reach a services and investment agreement with South Korea this year.

U.S. Engagement

The United States strongly supports ASEAN integration, both for strategic reasons -- it will enhance regional integration -- and for economic/commercial reasons -- it will make it easier for U.S. businesses to operate in Southeast Asia.

Our trade and security interests run broad and deep in Southeast Asia.  Taken together, the ASEAN economies represent our fourth largest trading partner.  In addition, the United States maintains important alliances and strategic partnerships across the region, with an impressive schedule of military training activities and exercises.

We are taking significant steps to strengthen and deepen our engagement further.

In July 2006, Secretary Rice and ASEAN ministers signed the Plan of Action under the ASEAN-U.S. Enhanced Partnership, covering political-security, social-cultural, and economic cooperation.  This January, Senior Economic Officials agreed to move forward with the U.S. proposal for the Plan of Action's Economic Agenda, including initiatives related to standards conformity, intellectual property rights protection, and improving the overall business climate.

Last August, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and her ASEAN counterparts signed a Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFA).  The TIFA aims to build our ties further and to increase trade and investment between ASEAN and the United States.  Initially, we're focusing on customs procedures, pharmaceuticals, and sanitary and phytosanitary issues.

These Department of State and USTR initiatives complement ongoing efforts by the Department of Commerce, the Federal Trade Commission, and USAID.  USAID, for example, is working with the ASEAN Secretariat to support regional integration and growth with literally dozens of technical assistance programs covering everything from investment and services to natural resources and money laundering.

It’s fair to say that the United States is fully engaged with ASEAN in the economic sphere, not just through development assistance programs, but also through our growing trade and investment relationship.  It's a relationship that provides prosperity, stability and security to the entire region – something which is, after all, ASEAN’s original charter.

Conclusion

As you can see, the United States and ASEAN are working on several exciting initiatives.  Singapore, as the ASEAN Country Coordinator for the United States, is an excellent partner in facilitating our engagement with ASEAN.

We look forward to working with Singapore and all our ASEAN partners to ensure this auspicious anniversary fulfills its great promise.

Plenty of challenges lie before us, but the end result – a more effective ASEAN and a more engaged United States in Southeast Asia – is well worth the effort.

Thank you for inviting me to join you this morning.  I look forward to hearing your questions and views.