[Title] CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT OF THE 12th ASEAN PLUS THREE FOREIGN MINISTERS’ MEETING

1. The 12th Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN and the People’s Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea was held in Bali, Indonesia on 21 July 2011. The Meeting was chaired by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, H.E. Dr. R. M. Marty M. Natalegawa.

2. The Ministers expressed their solidarity and support for the Government and People of Japan in their recovery and reconstruction efforts. They also expressed confidence of the early reconstruction of Japan.

Review and Future Direction of ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation

3. The Ministers noted with appreciation the progress made by the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation and in the implementation of the 2nd Joint Statement on East Asia Cooperation and the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Work Plan (2007-2017). They stressed the need for further deepening political and security cooperation, as well as strengthening policy coordination and sustaining economic growth in the region.

4. The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation in maintaining and enhancing peace, security, and stability as indispensable conditions for development in the region. To that end, the Ministers decided to intensify political and security cooperation as provided for in the Work Plan with a view to ensuring peace, security, and stability in the region.

5. The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of cooperation to promote good governance, strengthen the rule of law, and protect and promote human rights through policy dialogue and capacity building activities. The Ministers further decided to enhance cooperation in counter-terrorism, combating cyber crimes, maritime cooperation, and other non-traditional security issues.

6. The Ministers shared the view that terror threats, which may impede the enhancement of the ASEAN connectivity and ASEAN integration, still exist in the region and renewed their continued commitment to cooperate in combating transnational crimes as reflected in the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Work Plan. To that end, they reaffirmed the importance of reinforcing the ASEAN Plus Three framework in this area.

7. The Ministers expressed their satisfaction of developments made in ASEAN Plus Three financial cooperation. They welcomed the endorsement of the Operational Guidelines for Enhancing Effectiveness of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM) by the Finance Ministers, which will contribute to swift and smooth activation of CMIM Agreement and welcomed the establishment of the ASEAN Plus Three Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) in April 2011, which will contribute to early detection of risks, swift implementation of remedial actions, and effective decision-making of CMIM.

8. The Ministers appreciated the new proposals for studies in three possible areas of future ASEAN Plus Three financial cooperation: i) infrastructure financing; ii) disaster risk insurance, and iii) using local currencies for the regional trade settlement. They looked forward to positive outcomes of the said studies at an early date.

9. The Ministers recognized the rapid expansion of ASEAN Plus Three economic cooperation activities, including efforts such as current discussions at the ASEAN Plus Working Groups on four areas to liberalize trade among ASEAN Plus countries through consolidating ASEAN’s Plus One FTAs and exploring possible modalities based on studies on the East Asia Free Trade Area (EAFTA) and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia (CEPEA). In this regard, they appreciated China’s contribution of US$ 1 million, which will help to move forward the process of the establishment of the EAFTA.

10. The Ministers appreciated the Republic of Korea’s initiative to revitalize the East Asia Forum (EAF) and welcomed the concept paper on the EAF. In this regard, the Ministers looked forward to the adoption of the concept paper at the 9th EAF Meeting in Chendu, People’s Republic of China, in September 2011.

11. The Ministers adopted the Terms of Reference of the East Asia Vision Group (EAVG) II. The Ministers noted with appreciation the Republic of Korea’s efforts at preparing the initial draft of the Terms of Reference and looked forward to the inaugural meeting of the Group to be held in the Republic of Korea before the 19th ASEAN Summit and Other Related Summits and Meeting. In this regard, the Ministers also looked forward to the final recommendations of the EAVG II to the Leaders at the 15th ASEAN Plus Three Summit in 2012 which will stock-take all previous and current activities in order to chart the future direction of the ASEAN Plus Three cooperation.

12. The Ministers noted the convening of the 14th Network of East Asian Think Tanks (NEAT) Country Coordinators Meeting (CCM) in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, on 28-29 April 2011 and looked forward to the NEAT Meeting in Da Nang, Viet Nam, on 11-12 August 2011. In this regard, the Ministers welcomed the NEAT’s working group activities in various fields such as disaster management and appreciated the contributions of the NEAT and encouraged relevant ASEAN Plus Three sectoral bodies to look into the NEAT’s policy recommendations.

13. The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of ensuring food security in the region. In this regard, they looked forward to the signing of the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Agreement in October 2011, as a permanent mechanism to ensure food security in the region. The Ministers also encouraged further deliberations on the possibility of establishing modalities to achieve the same aims for other staple foods.

14. The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to ensure energy security in the region by promoting energy diversification through information exchanges and researches on alternative, new, and renewable energy development, as well as energy conservation, energy efficiency, and the use of clean and environmentally-friendly technologies.

15. The Ministers underscored the importance of new proposals for cooperation in the ASEAN Plus Three framework which, among others, include cooperation in food safety and standards, water management, deforestation prevention and reforestation, as well as disaster management.

16. The Ministers welcomed the convening of the Informal ASEAN Plus Three Education Ministers’ Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, on 17-18 July 2011 as follow-up to the ASEAN Plus Three Leaders’ agreement in the 13th ASEAN Plus Three Summit in Ha Noi, Viet Nam. The Ministers expressed their support for further cooperation to enhance the quality of education, regional competitiveness, and promote educational exchange and innovation in the region.

17. The Ministers welcomed Japan’s proposal to hold an international conference/seminar in 2012 to share its experiences and lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake on 11 March 2011, as well as to host the Third World Conference on Disaster Reduction in 2015. The Ministers shared the view that ASEAN Plus Three countries should further strengthen regional cooperation in this area.

18. The Ministers noted the progress of the work for the ASEAN Plus Three Memorandum of Cooperation on Tourism and looked forward to its signing in January 2012.

19. The Ministers also welcomed the progress in the implementation of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity and expressed support for the development of a connectivity master plan plus. They looked forward to the development of ASEAN Plus Three connectivity in the future.

20. The Ministers reaffirmed that the ASEAN Plus Three process would continue as a main vehicle towards the long-term goal of building an East Asian community with ASEAN as the driving force. At the same time, the Ministers reaffirmed their support for ASEAN centrality in the evolving regional architecture and recognized the mutually reinforcing and complementary roles of the ASEAN Plus Three process and such regional fora as ASEAN Plus One, EAS, and ARF in the East Asian community building process.

Exchange of Views on Regional and International Issues

21. The Ministers noted that despite downside risks in the global recovery from an unprecedented international financial crisis, the East Asian economies were among the first to recover, and had become one of the key drivers of the global economic recovery. They reiterated their commitment to accelerating and deepening economic structural reforms, promoting domestic demand and employment, resisting protectionism, and further promoting trade and investment for the recovery and long-term prosperity of the world economy.

22. The Ministers welcomed the results of the G-20 Summit in Seoul, particularly the adoption of the agenda for development as provided in the Seoul Development Consensus for Shared Growth, as an integral part of the G-20 Framework for Strong, Sustainable, and Balanced Growth. The Ministers cited the agenda as in accordance with developing countries’ interests and conducive to the generation of comprehensive and balanced ideas on the development of the global economic and financial architecture. The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of the ASEAN Chair to continue to be invited to participate in the G-20 Summits on a regular basis.

23. The Ministers stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and in the region, and called on all concerned parties to make efforts to achieve the complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean peninsula in a peaceful manner. They encouraged the parties to create the necessary conditions for the resumption of the Six Party Talks. In this regard, they also underlined the importance of sincere and constructive inter-Korean dialogue. They stressed the need for the full implementation of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. It was also emphasized the importance of addressing the issue of humanitarian concerns of the international community, such as abduction issue.

24. The Ministers emphasized the importance of enhancing cooperation to promote mitigation and adaptation, with the sufficient financial and technological support by the developed countries, as well as cooperation in international negotiations toward a comprehensive and balanced outcome in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities for the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Kyoto Protocol.

25. The Ministers shared the views of the necessity to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation in 2012 and to consider the 15th ASEAN Plus Three Summit as an ASEAN Plus Three Commemorative Summit.

26. The Ministers looked forward to the 13th ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Cambodia in 2012.