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Event Detail

Declaration of ASEAN Concord II

Event Details

On October 7, 2003 ten countries signed the second ASEAN Concord, also known as the Bali Concord. The first Declaration of ASEAN Concord was adopted in Bali, Indonesia in 1976. The ASEAN Concord II was signed by Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.

The purpose of this ASEAN concord is to establish a community comprised of three pillars: political and security cooperation, economic cooperation, and socio-cultural cooperation that are closely intertwined and mutually reinforcing for the purpose of ensuring peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

It was decided that the ASEAN Security Community (ASC) members would rely exclusively on peaceful processes in the settlement of intra-regional differences and regard their security as fundamentally linked to one another and bound by geographic location and common vision. Other issues which fall under this pillar are upholding principles of international law as laid out in the UN Charter and cooperation on maritime concerns. Finally, it was agreed that ASEAN would explore innovative ways to increase its security and establish modalities for the ASEAN Security Community, which include the following elements: norms-setting, conflict prevention, approaches to conflict resolution, and post-conflict peace building.

The ASEAN Economic Community encompasses the goals of ASEAN Vision 2020, which is to create a stable and competitive ASEAN economic region in which there is a free flow of goods, services, investment and a freer flow of capital, equitable economic development and reduced poverty and socio-economic disparities in year 2020. A High-Level Task Force on ASEAN Economic Integration was established.

The ASEAN Socio-cultural Community, the third pillar, will foster cooperation in social development aimed at raising the standard of living of disadvantaged groups and the rural population, and will seek the active involvement of all sectors of society, in particular women, youth, and local communities. ASEAN will intensify cooperation in the area of public health, including in the prevention and control of infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and SARS.