[Title] Chairman's Statement of The 13th ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers' Meeting

1. The 13th Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN and the People's Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 10 July 2012. The Meeting was chaired by H.E. Mr. HOR Namhong, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia.

2. The Ministers were pleased with the achievements of the ASEAN Plus Three cooperation over the past 15 years and took note of the fast growing and deepening of cooperation within the ASEAN Plus Three framework, including political and security, transnational crime, economic, finance and monetary, agriculture and forestry, energy, minerals, tourism, health, culture and arts, environment, science and technology, information and communication technology, social welfare, rural development and poverty eradication, disaster management, youth, women, education, among others.

3. The Ministers noted with satisfaction the substantive progress that was made in the implementation of the 2nd Joint Statement on East Asia Cooperation and the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Work Plan (2007-2017). The Ministers exchanged views on how to further implement the work plan more effectively and agreed to task the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN to work closely with the Ambassadors of the Plus Three countries to ASEAN and the ASEAN Secretariat to conduct a Mid-Term Review of the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Work Plan.

4. The Ministers agreed to accelerate regional integration and to envision the long-term future of East Asia, in particular the East Asia community building.

5. The Ministers reaffirmed their strong commitment to further deepening and broadening of ASEAN Plus Three cooperation which will continue to serve as a main vehicle towards the long-term goal of building an East Asian community with ASEAN as the driving force.

6. The Plus Three countries reaffirmed their strong support to the central role of ASEAN in the existing regional mechanisms and 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.

7. The Ministers highlighted the importance for East Asian countries to spur the internal growth in the context of downside risks in the global economy, and to promote regional economic development in a sustainable and healthy way.

8. The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of the implementation of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity and ASEAN Member States appreciated the strong support of the Plus Three countries in implementing the Master Plan. The Ministers noted the ASEAN's Paper on ASEAN Plus Three Partnership on Connectivity” and the initiatives contained therein, such as to designate the year 2012 as the “Visit ASEAN Plus Three Year” and to choose one of the cities in ASEAN Plus Three countries as “the Cultural City of East Asia.” The Ministers supported Cambodia's proposal to designate Siem Reap City of Cambodia as “the Cultural City of East Asia in 2012.” The Ministers also agreed that these initiatives should be launched in 2012 to mark the 15th Anniversary of the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation.

9. The Ministers took note of the report on Workshop on ASEAN Plus Three Partnership on Connectivity hosted by Thailand on 15 June 2012 in Bangkok, and welcomed the proposal for the Leaders' Statement on ASEAN Plus Three Partnership on Connectivity to be adopted by the ASEAN Plus Three Leaders at the ASEAN Plus Three Commemorative Summit in November 2012 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to mark the 15th Anniversary of the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation.

10. The Ministers expressed their commitment to supporting the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Management (AHA Center) which promotes regional cooperation in disaster management, humanitarian assistance and emergency response to regional disasters.

11. The Ministers underlined the significant roles and contribution of the ASEAN-China Centre, ASEAN-Japan Centre and the ASEAN-Korea Centre in promoting trade, investment, tourism and cultural exchanges between ASEAN and the Plus Three countries.

12. The Ministers expressed their satisfaction on developments made in the ASEAN Plus Three Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' Meeting on strengthening the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM), including doubling its total size, increasing the IMF de-linked portion, and introducing the prices prevention function, and on enhancing ASEAN Plus Three Microeconomic Research Office (AMRO)'s organizational capacity.

13. The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment for the sustainable and integrated food security in the region and agreed to strengthen regional efforts to enhance cooperation in the agriculture sector, especially investment in infrastructure, technology transfer and technical assistance in order to increase agricultural production and productivity. In this connection, the Ministers stressed the importance of effective implementation of the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Agreement, which was signed on 7 October 2011, in Indonesia. The Ministers were encouraged that the Agreement will come into force on 12 July 2012 and look forward to its full and effective implementation. The Ministers welcomed steady implementation of ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) and expected its future development based on the Proposal of Post-2012 AFSIS.

14. The Ministers welcomed convening of the 1st ASEAN Plus Three Education Ministers' Meeting in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on 4 July 2012 and expressed their satisfaction for the adoption of the ASEAN Plus Three Plan of Action on Education (2010-2017) in order to strengthen the educational cooperation and human resource development in the region. The Ministers also welcomed the endorsement of the Work Plan on Enhancing ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation through Information and Media (2012 – 2017) and looked forward to its successful implementation. They welcomed the progress of the “CAMPUS Asia” initiative, by Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea and their intention to promote university exchanges with ASEAN countries. They reaffirmed the importance of promoting quality assurance in higher education among ASEAN Plus Three countries.

15. The Ministers looked forward to the signing of the ASEAN Plus Three Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on Tourism by the APT Tourism Ministers in the near future.

16. The Ministers took note of Malaysia's proposal to have a dialogue between the ASEAN Plus Three Leaders and Business Circle such as East Asia Business Council (EABC) during the ASEAN Plus Three Commemorative Summit in Phnom Penh, in November 2012.

17. The Ministers underlined the importance of peace, security and stability in the Korean Peninsula and urged concerned parties not to conduct any further provocation and to comply with its obligations under the relevant UNSC resolutions and its commitment under the 2005 UNSC Six-Party Talks Joint Statement. The Ministers further reiterated the call for all parties concerned to explore all possibilities to engage in peaceful dialogue which would lead to creating an atmosphere of trust and confidence among the concerned parties.

18. The Ministers appreciated the important contribution of the Network of East Asian Think-Tanks (NEAT) and the East Asia Forum (EAF) to strengthen the East Asia Cooperation, and to move forward the East Asia Community Building in the long-term.

19. The Ministers looked forward to the finalization of the final report of the East Asia Vision Group II (EAVG II) at the forth Meeting of the EAVG II to be held on 5-7 September 2012, in Bali, Indonesia. The Ministers also looked forward to its submission to the ASEAN Plus Three Commemorative Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in November 2012.

20. The Ministers highly appreciated the support of the Plus Three Countries for the regular participation of the ASEAN Chair in the G20 Summits.

21. The Ministers agreed to organize the 15th ASEAN Plus Three Summit as a Commemorative Summit and to have Leaders' Joint Statement to Commemorate the 15th Anniversary of ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation.

22. The Ministers welcomed Cambodia's initiative to hold two activities to commemorate the 15th Anniversary of ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation, namely the “ASEAN Plus Three Youth Leaders' Symposium” to be held in September 2012, in Phnom Penh, and the “ASEAN Plus Three Joint Cultural Performance: Unity in Diversity” to be held in early November 2012, in Siem Reap; and China's initiative to hold the Symposium on Commemorating the 15th Anniversary of APT Cooperation in the second half of 2012 and publish a collection of documents on APT cooperation over the past 15 years.

23. The Ministers looked forward to the 14th ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Brunei Darussalam in 2013.