Joint Statement of the 21st ASEAN-Japan Summit to Commemorate the 45th Anniversary of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation

Joint Statement of the 21st ASEAN-Japan Summit to Commemorate the 45th Anniversary of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation

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We, the Heads of State/Government of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan, gathered in Singapore, on 14 November 2018 at the 21st ASEAN-Japan Summit to commemorate the 45th Anniversary of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation;

Noting with satisfaction the excellent development of ASEAN-Japan friendship and cooperation over the past 45 years, based on the “heart-to-heart” relationship of mutual trust and “equal partnership”;

Reaffirming our mutual respect for the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, equality, non-interference and political independence of all nations as espoused in the Charter of the United Nations, the ASEAN Charter and the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC);

Recognising the establishment of ASEAN Community in 2015 and acknowledging the need to thereafter further deepen and enhance ASEAN Dialogue Partnership and external relations, including the relationship between ASEAN and Japan, and reaffirming the importance of friendly, equal relations, mutually beneficial and meaningful partnership between ASEAN and Japan, and stressing the shared commitment to maintaining peace, security, and stability in the region in accordance with the universally recognised principles of international law, as well as the peaceful resolution of disputes, including full respect for legal and diplomatic processes, without resorting to the threat or use of force;

Reaffirming our commitment to guiding ASEAN-Japan Dialogue Relations by the principles, purposes, shared values and norms enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, TAC and the Vision Statement on ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation, including the principles of the rule of law, democracy and human rights;

Welcoming the meaningful activities implemented to commemorate the 45th Anniversary of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation in 2018;

HEREBY reaffirm as follows:

1. We are committed to enhancing the ASEAN-Japan Strategic Partnership for mutual benefit, and to strengthening ASEAN-Japan cooperation in the four areas of partnership, namely Partners for Peace and Stability, Partners for Prosperity, Partners for Quality of Life, and Heart-to-Heart Partners, as stated in the Vision Statement on ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation in 2013, including through the full and effective implementation of its revised Implementation Plan adopted in Manila, Philippines in August 2017.

2. We reaffirm the importance of Japan’s support for ASEAN integration and ASEAN’s efforts in realising ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together, including through Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) as well as Japan’s full respect and support for ASEAN unity, cohesiveness, and centrality in shaping the evolving regional architecture. We will continue to cooperate closely in multilateral fora and strengthen cooperation in relevant sub-regional cooperation frameworks and cooperation mechanisms.

3. We underscore the importance of promoting peace, stability and prosperity across the Indo-Pacific region, which is facing various challenges. We share the view to promote a rules-based Indo-Pacific region that is free and open, embraces key principles such as ASEAN’s unity and centrality, inclusiveness, transparency and complements ASEAN community building process. In this regard, ASEAN leaders note with appreciation Japan’s intention to further contribute more proactively to securing regional and international peace, stability and prosperity, as well as Japan’s continued support for ASEAN connectivity, including through its policy of “Proactive Contribution to Peace” and its policy on a free and open Indo-Pacific, which reaffirms ASEAN’s vital role as the bridge connecting the Indian and Pacific Oceans in the Indo-Pacific.

4. We will strengthen dialogue and cooperation to enhance mutual understanding and friendship, and promote defence exchanges and security cooperation to address common security issues, maritime security, terrorism, transnational crimes and other non-traditional security challenges in the pursuit of regional peace and stability through existing ASEAN-led frameworks and mechanisms such as the ASEAN Plus Japan mechanisms, ASEAN Plus Three (APT), the East Asia Summit (EAS), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus), as well as the Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum (EAMF). We will further enhance cybersecurity cooperation, including through the ASEAN-Japan Cybersecurity Capacity Building Centre, the ARF Inter-Sessional Meeting on Security of and in the Use of ICTs, the ASEAN Cyber Capacity Programme and the ASEAN Ministerial Conference on Cybersecurity.

5. We will continue to strengthen dialogue and cooperation for the maintenance of maritime security and safety, freedom and safety of navigation and overflight, and unimpeded commerce, and ensuring the resolution of disputes by peaceful means, without resorting to threat or use of force, in accordance with universally recognised principles of international law including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). We reiterate the importance of non-militarization and self-restraint, and refraining from conduct of activities that could further complicate the situation and undermine peace, security and stability in the region.

6. We reaffirm our commitment to achieving free and open trade and resisting all forms of protectionism and underline the critical importance of the rules-based multilateral trading system as embodied in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). We will further deepen and expand mutually-beneficial economic cooperation, including through fostering sustainable, inclusive, and innovative economic growth in support of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), enhancing the utilisation of the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP) Agreement and the implementation of the ASEAN-Japan 10-Year Strategic Economic Cooperation Roadmap, and intensifying efforts towards a modern, comprehensive, high-quality and mutually beneficial Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

7. We support Singapore’s Chairmanship priorities of building a resilient and innovative ASEAN and in this regard, welcome the establishment of the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN) and look forward to further collaboration on this initiative.

8. We will further enhance economic integration, such as in promoting the digital economy, through the support of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) to explore the vision of developing an East Asia community with the ASEAN Community as its core.

9. We will continue to strengthen cooperation in enhancing connectivity, quality infrastructure according to international standards and narrowing development gaps in the region through the implementation of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 (MPAC 2025) and the Expanded Partnership for Quality Infrastructure and promoting synergies between MPAC 2025 and other regional connectivity initiatives, as well as the implementation of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Work Plan III (2016-2020). We welcome the convening of the 10th Mekong-Japan Summit in
Tokyo on 9 October 2018 which adopted the Tokyo Strategy 2018 for Mekong-Japan Cooperation.

10. We reaffirm the importance of enhancing the ASEAN-Japan aviation relationship, including better air transport connectivity between ASEAN and Japan, and look forward to the successful conclusion of a more liberal and mutually beneficial ASEAN-Japan regional air services agreement.

11. We appreciate the growing partnership of ASEAN and Japan in the area of social and cultural cooperation, including promoting exchanges of cultural, arts and heritage activities, and people-to-people exchanges and tourism, youth and sports. Furthermore, we will enhance cooperation in the areas, including, but not limited to, education, aging societies, health, disaster management, environmental protection and sustainable development.

12. We express appreciation for the ASEAN-Japan Centre’s continued contribution to promote trade, investment, tourism, people-to-people exchange, ASEAN awareness, as well as addressing new challenges faced by ASEAN and Japan. We also welcome the Centre’s recent structural reforms that would further enhance ASEAN-Japan cooperation.

13. We look forward to Japan’s future contribution to the enhancement of ASEAN’s unity and centrality through technical cooperation under the Agreement on Technical Cooperation between ASEAN and Japan, which both sides will sign at the earliest possible opportunity.