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ASEAN - Ministerial Meetings and Declarations

The following is a selection of ASEAN declarations, press releases and other documents demonstrating the expansion of political, economical and social policies.

ASEAN Declaration on Transnational Crime (1997)

The ASEAN Declaration on Transnational Crime was agreed upon in Manila in December 1997 by representatives from the member states' Home Affairs departments or the equivalent. The Declaration calls for the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMTCC) to meet every two years and to co-ordinate actions of other relevant bodies including ASEAN Chiefs of National Police (ASEANAPOL). It initiates and facilitates developments that produce common policy laundered initiatives:

  • It provides for the future discussions on signing mutual legal assistance agreements;
  • It encourages the exchange and dissemination of information;
  • It provides for the consideration of an ASEAN Centre on Transnational Crime (ACOT) to co-ordinate regional efforts against transnational crime though intelligence sharing, harmonisation of policies and co-ordination of operations, including the assignment of police liaison officers to other ASEAN cities.

Manila Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Transnational Crime (1998)

The Manila Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Transnational Crime was a regional ministerial meeting and builds on much of the content of the 1997 Declaration on Transnational Crime. The Declaration lists various objectives of the member states:

  • Fostering close collaborative ties with Interpol and International Organisations
  • Ssecuring the co-operation of financial institutions and the business community through regulations and mechanisms
  • Eenacting new laws or revising existing laws dealing with the extension of anti-money laundering measures to deal with all serious offences and the reporting of suspicious transactions to appropriate authorities
  • Ccreating the necessary infrastructure for regional and sub-regional co-operation of criminal justice institutions and law enforcement agencies
  • Iintensifying the exchange of information and experience regarding the occurrence and pattern of organised crime and corruption
  • Rreviewing and updating existing extradition and mutual assistance arrangements and concluding such arrangements
  • Wworking towards regional agreements for simplifying extradition laws;
  • Eestablishing arrangements for the systematic collection of data on manifestations of organised transnational crime

ASEAN Plan of Action to Combat Transnational Crime (1999)

The ASEAN Plan of Action to Combat Transnational Crime was adopted at the 2nd AMMTC meeting in June 1999. During the meeting, the ministers agreed to form a Senior Officials' Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTEC) that would develop a work program for fulfilling the plan of action.

It reiterates much of what has been stated in previous declarations and communiqués, particularly:

  • Improving the ASEANAPOL regional database
  • Enhancing co-operation in legal matters, especially developing multilateral or bilateral arrangements to facilitate apprehension, investigation, prosecution and extradition, exchange of witnesses and sharing of evidence
  • Strengthening the integrity of travel documents
  • Making AMTCC the highest policy-making body of ASEAN cooperation in combating transnational crime
  • Enhancing information exchange with ASEAN Dialogue Partners, regional organisations, relevant specialist agencies of the UN and other IGO's particularly the sharing of critical information on identities, movements and activities of known transnational organisations

ASEAN Declaration on Joint Action to Counter Terrorism (2001)

This ASEAN Declaration on Joint Action to Counter Terrorism was made at the 7th ASEAN Summit in November 2001 by the Heads of State or Government of the member states of ASEAN. It mandates:

  • The early ratification to all relevant UN anti-terrorist conventions
  • Enabling closer co-operation between ASEAN's law enforcement agencies
  • Enhancing intelligence exchange
  • Encouraging further co-operation between the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMTCC) and other relevant ASEAN bodies in countering terrorism
  • Encouraging member states to develop existing capabilities to investigate, detect, monitor and report on terrorist acts

Agreement of Information Exchange and Establishment of Communications Procedures (2002)

The Agreement of Information Exchange and Establishment of Communications Procedures (May 2002) is not an ASEAN agreement, but a trilateral agreement among the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. It is slightly more detailed than many of the ASEAN documents, specifically:

  • Article 3 outlines and defines several areas of co-operation in great detail, including terrorism.
  • Article 5 states that the parties shall "use their best endeavours to expeditiously relay information about any activity that falls under the areas of co-operation enumerated in Article 3 to the relevant Party."
  • Article 11 allows for subsequent accession to the agreement by other ASEAN member countries.
  • Annex 1 outlines projects to implement the agreement. These include: the sharing of airline passenger lists, providing access to each state's computerized fingerprint databank as appropriate and sharing blacklists of visa-issuing offices.

Special ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Terrorism (2002)  

The Special ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Terrorism, held in May 2002, was attended by ASEAN Ministers responsible for transnational crime issues. The communiqué most notably called for commitment to entrust Senior Officials to execute the " Work Programme on Terrorism' in accordance with the ASEAN Plan of Action to combat Trans-national Crime". The "Work Programme' will operate sub-programmes focusing on the:

  • Exchange of information
  • Compilation and dissemination of relevant laws and regulations of ASEAN Member Countries
  • Compilation and dissemination of bilateral and multilateral agreements and information on relevant international treaties where feasible
  • Development of multilateral or bilateral legal arrangements to facilitate apprehension, investigation, prosecution, extradition, inquiry and seizure in order to enhance mutual legal and administrative assistance among ASEAN Member Countries where feasible
  • Enhancement of cooperation and coordination in law enforcement and intelligence sharing
  • Development of regional training programmes

Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance

The Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters is the first treaty among ASEAN member states on legal co-operation and is viewed by them as important in the fight against terrorism and international crime. The treaty is the product of meetings between the ASEAN Senior Law Officials Meetings (ASLOM), after Malaysia proposed the treaty at the 8th ASLOM. It was signed on the 29th November 2004 by a mixture of attorneys and ministers from eight of the ASEAN member states (Burma-Myanmar and Thailand did not sign the document).

Notable articles include:

  • Article 1, providing that the member states render to one another the widest possible measure of mutual legal assistance in criminal matters;
  • Article 3, affording protection against requests for information of a political nature;
  • Article 4, mandating for a central authority to be established in each member state specifically to process requests for information;
  • Article 20, providing that member states shall use their best endeavours to ascertain the location or identity of a specified individual who is reasonably believed to be within it territory.

ASEAN Chiefs of Army

The ASEAN Chiefs of Army have held annual Ministerial Meetings (known as ACAMM) since 2000. These meetings are attended by the respective "Chiefs of Army" and numerous delegates from each military force.

ACAMM has demonstrated a continuing commitment to counter terrorism activities as demonstrated by the themes and press releases emanating from the meetings:

  • 3rd ASEAN Chiefs of Army Ministerial Meeting (2002)
    The theme at the 3rd meeting was the "Strategic Landscape of Asia-Pacific: the Changing Role of the Army." Discussions focused on the role of the army in response to changes in the regional security environment.
  • 4th ASEAN Chiefs of Army Ministerial Meeting (2003)
    The focus at the 4th ACMM meeting was enhancing the regional network in combating terrorism and also exploring how member countries could assist each other in the area of trans-border crime prevention. Malaysia's Chief of Army, General Mohd Sharom Nordin, stated that the army chiefs would also explore the possibility of establishing a "hotline or keypoints of contact for exchange of information and database."
  • 5th ASEAN Chiefs of Army Ministerial Meeting (2004)
    Enhancing "professionalism and solidarity" among the ASEAN armies was the theme of discussion with participants agreeing to boost transparency and the exchange of intelligence information among member states of ASEAN. Indonesian Chief of Army Ryamizard Ryacudu commented at a joint press conference that, "Terrorism in a small scale is not the obligation of the army, but if the scale has been high, using war equipment, bombs, and missiles or such kind, it becomes the obligation of the army,"

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