LEADERS OF four members in the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have reaffirmed their commitment to regional
integration, while noting that the planned common market in three years may
eventually include other countries in the greater East Asia region, according
to statement released on Thursday.
“Physical
connectiveness is almost complete in our region,” the statement quoted Thai
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra as saying during the opening ceremony of the
World Economic Forum on East Asia in Bangkok on Thursday.
The
ASEAN Community is envisioned to take place in 2015.
Ms.
Shinawatra cited infrastructure projects such as the Singapore-Kunming railway
link that will connect Thailand with northern China, Laos, Malaysia and
Singapore.
Nonphysical
infrastructure, however, must also be improved, Ms. Shinawatra said, noting
laws and regulations that are needed to ensure free cross-border movement of
people and goods while strengthening security and preventing illegal activities
such as drug smuggling.
For his
part, Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, concurred:
“Laos
attaches great importance to regional connectivity to transform the country
from a landlocked to a land-linked nation.”
Development
gaps among ASEAN members must also be addressed, he added.
“Regional
cooperation and connectivity will help strengthen the resilience of East Asian
nations to external shocks,” Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said,
while noting that economic woes in Europe and the United States still threaten
to affect the region.
For his
part, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that the new ASEAN
architecture should not be limited to the 10 member states.
“The
regional economy must be seen from two perspectives, ASEAN and the East Asia
Summit,” Mr. Yudhoyono said, referring to the forum that brings together ASEAN
and eight other countries namely Australia, China, Japan, India, Korea, New
Zealand, Russia and the United States.
KAMP
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