ASEAN 40주년 세미나 연설 상세보기|간부

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ASEAN 40주년 세미나 연설

작성일: 2007-08-27
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TOWARDS A NEW CHAPTER OF ROK-ASEAN COOPERATION
AND COMMUNITY-BUILDING IN EAST ASIA

Lee Kyung-soo
Director-General
South Asian & Oceanian Affairs Bureau
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Seminar on on the Occasion of the
40th Anniversary of ASEAN
Millennium Seoul Hilton
Monday, 27 August

Your Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure and privilege to speak today in celebration of 40 years of ASEAN cooperation. Congratulations on the auspicious occasion of the 40th anniversary of the foundation of ASEAN and the remarkable achievements the ASEAN leaders have made for a prosperous Southeast Asia. I would like to extend my special appreciation to His Excellency Ambassador Lim Samkol, Chair of the ASEAN Committee in Seoul, for the wonderful preparations for this event. Please allow me to also express what a high honor it is to stand here today in the company of His Excellency Kim Dae Jung, former President of the Republic of Korea, the Honorable Ambassadors of ASEAN member countries, and other distinguished guests.

The topic of my presentation for today’s seminar is: Towards a New Chapter of ROK-ASEAN Cooperation and Community-building in East Asia.

1. Overview of ROK-ASEAN Relationship

Comprehensive relations between Korea and ASEAN have been growing since the establishment of the Dialogue Partnership in 1989. As of 2006, the trade volume between Korea and ASEAN stood at 53.5 billion USD, representing a 15% increase over that of the year before. Furthermore, ASEAN has grown into the fourth largest destination for Korean overseas investment and the third largest import market of Korean goods.

In terms of Korea’s assistance to ASEAN, Korea has provided ASEAN with grant aids amounting to approximately 44 million USD, and loans amounting to approximately 733 million USD in 2006. The combination of these two forms of assistance accounted for 1/4 of Korea’s total Official Development Assistance(ODA) last year. Overall, Korea's ODA toward ASEAN is steadily increasing and is expected to increase threefold after 2015.

2005 marked a milestone year for ROK-ASEAN relations. Notably, the Plan of Action, drafted after the ROK-ASEAN Joint Declaration on Comprehensive Cooperation Partnership, serves as an important guideline for ROK-ASEAN cooperation by providing specific directions in the 8 areas of cooperation. At the 2006 Summit, the First Executive Report was adopted as a progress report on the implementation of the various measures under the Plan of Action.

Furthermore, the signing of the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation at the 2005 Kuala Lumpur Summit laid the groundwork for ROK-ASEAN co-prosperity. This Agreement forms the basis for the ROK-ASEAN FTA, of which the deadline for concluding the Agreement on Services and Investment has been set for November 2007.

Korea also notes with satisfaction that the Chiang Mai Initiative of bilateral swap arrangements has expanded to 75 billion USD, and acknowledge that the Asian Bond Market Initiative(ABMI) also promotes the development of efficient bond markets in Asia, which can be the engine for long-term financial growth in the region.

2. ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation

This year marks not only the 40th anniversary of the founding of ASEAN, but also the 10th anniversary of ASEAN Plus Three cooperation. In the process of developing the ASEAN Plus Three mechanism, Korea has proudly played a leading role with the initiatives of the East Asia Vision Group(EAVG) and the East Asia Study Group(EASG), which respectively laid the groundwork for solidifying East Asian cooperation. In particular, the EASG final report suggested 26 cooperation projects to help achieve the long-term goal of realizing an 『East Asia Community』. Today, the ASEAN Plus Three process has developed to form approximately 50 cooperation channels in 20 fields including 15 ministerial level meetings.

At the 10th ASEAN Plus Three Summit held in Cebu earlier this year, the Heads of the 13 countries reaffirmed their commitment to ASEAN Plus Three cooperation as the main vehicle for realizing an 『East Asia Community』, with ASEAN as the driving force and with the active participation of the Plus Three countries. They also noted the scheduled adoption of the 2nd Joint Statement on East Asia Cooperation at the next Summit in Singapore this November, which will comprehensively lay out the future direction for ASEAN Plus Three cooperation.

3. Further Building the ASEAN Community

Korea appreciates ASEAN’s efforts towards community-building on the three pillars of security, economy and socio-cultural community, as laid out in the Bali Concord II at the 2003 ASEAN Summit.

In this regard, I am pleased that the recent ASEAN Summit drew attention to the importance of enhancing cooperation and community-building in the East Asian region by affirming a strong commitment to accelerate the establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015 as envisioned in the ASEAN Vision 2020 and the Bali Concord II.

Our continued efforts towards community-building will be necessary in creating a legal and institutional framework as a foundation for further cooperation. In this context, I welcome the agreement by ASEAN leaders to establish the ASEAN Charter, and furthermore, I look forward to the constructive activities of the Eminent Persons Group in making recommendations concerning the principle elements and nature of the Charter.

4. Obstacles in East Asian Community-building

However, despite the progress achieved so far in our efforts towards a new chapter of ROK-ASEAN cooperation and community-building in East Asia, there are still some obstacles that we need to surmount beforehand. Mainly, the key obstacles are the North Korean nuclear issue, development gap within ASEAN, and the China-Japan rivalry.

(North Korean Nuclear Issue)
First, the current North Korean nuclear issue is the most pressing matter threatening East Asia’s security, and sustaining peace and security in the region will be a difficult task to achieve without resolving this issue. In the event that the North Korean nuclear issue is not resolved, achieving an 『East Asia Community』will become difficult, and this in turn will have a considerably adverse effect on ASEAN. Therefore ASEAN, whether it be directly or indirectly, has a stake in realizing peace on the Korean peninsula.

(Development Gap Between ASEAN Countries)
Second, within ASEAN, a wide development gap exists among ASEAN member countries. This difference is particularly visible among the CLMV countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Viet Nam. Without resolution of this obstacle, it will be difficult to expand the ASEAN cooperation program and achieve true regional integration.

(Rivalry Between China and Japan)
Third, East Asia is facing increasing challenges as political and economic rivalry between China and Japan continues to intensify. Although ASEAN has traditionally maintained close economic relations with Japan, I believe China’s growing presence in the regional economic arena and the resulting competitive environment can leave ASEAN in a slightly uneasy situation.

5. Options for Building Future-Oriented Cooperation Between Korea and ASEAN

In response to the present obstacles set before us impeding our efforts towards enhancing ROK-ASEAN cooperation and building an 『East Asia Community』, I would like to suggest the following as possible ways out.

(North Korean Nuclear Issue)
In regard to cooperation in the area of security, peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue should be made a top priority.

The North Korean nuclear issue is grave threat not only to Korea, but also to countries across the globe. Therefore, ASEAN’s greater cooperation and support in realizing peace on the Korean peninsula is requested. In this regard, I believe ASEAN is playing a proper role through the ARF process.

Moreover, there is much anticipation that the Plus Three Countries will emerge as key players in defining the climate of peace and security in East Asia in the coming five to ten years. It is therefore encouraged that ASEAN and the Plus Three Countries further cooperate to establish a security nexus linking Northeast Asia with Southeast Asia.

(Expanding ROK-ASEAN Information and Policy Exchange)
It is necessary for Korean and ASEAN government authorities to share information, increase opportunities for policy exchange, and establish a network for the active mutual exchange of ideas among security specialists.

By way of enhanced cooperation between Korea and ASEAN, economic and political ties between our two sides will be strengthened, and interest in security issues on the Korean Peninsula will also consequently increase.

(Bridging Development Gap within ASEAN)
As already mentioned, a major challenge to building an 『East Asia Community』involves promoting economic integration by bridging the development gap. In that view, my government stands by ASEAN’s concrete plans towards ASEAN integration, such as the Initiative for ASEAN Integration(IAI) and the Vientiane Action Plan(VAP).

On the part of ASEAN, as a solution to narrowing the development gap, I would like to suggest that particular efforts be given to reforming, opening and liberalizing the national economic policies of the CLMV countries.

(Enhanced Economic Cooperation Based on FTAs)
Cooperation in the financial area and the pursuit of an EAFTA, which are both EASG mid to long-term measures, will also greatly contribute to the regional integration and economic development of East Asia.

It is predicted that an FTA with ASEAN, Korea's fifth largest trading partner, will lead to enhanced mutual economic dependence, accelerating the development of our bilateral relations. Success of the Korea-Singapore FTA has led to positive expectations concerning the outcomes of a ROK-ASEAN FTA.

(Mitigation of China-Japan Rivalry)
It is possible that ASEAN may consider this economic rivalry accountable for the absence of distinct leadership in fostering cooperative relations between the Northeast Asian and ASEAN regions. In view of that, I believe ASEAN is now looking towards Korea to neutralize the prevailing influence of China and Japan over the region, and take up the role as 「facilitator」 of collective cooperation in East Asia. I can empathize with ASEAN’s such position.

Korea, in return, can gain a stepping stone to enter further into this region in tandem with raising our profile and solidifying our image as an advocate of future-oriented diplomacy, making this a diplomatic and economic win-win equation for East Asia.

(Korean Wave)
Also, I have observed that ASEAN is also considerably interested in other Korean social developments such as our culture and academics. The recent 「Korean Wave」 which has swept through many ASEAN countries, has significantly enhanced Korea’s global image by familiarizing the world with Korean culture, which in due course can be expected to open up a vast potential for further development of ROK-ASEAN cooperation.

(Cooperation within Academia)
Moreover, strengthened cooperation between Korean and ASEAN Think Tanks is also necessary for advancing mutual cooperation and understanding. Furthermore, I believe that it is necessary to create opportunities to better familiarize the peoples of Korea and ASEAN with each other. Therefore, establishing and expanding 「Korean Studies」 and 「ASEAN Studies」 departments in major universities and research institutes in both Korea and ASEAN countries should be given positive consideration.

6. Conclusion
I believe Korea should develop an enduring policy of active involvement in ASEAN affairs. For my part, I will commit efforts in my new capacity as the Director-General of the South Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau to create a nurturing environment to this purpose.

In response to the rising importance of ASEAN, my government has recently designated the strengthening of diplomatic relations with ASEAN as one of its main diplomatic goals. Reflecting this new resolve, the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has freshly undergone transformation of its organizational structure to better accommodate cooperation with ASEAN by newly creating a bureau specifically for South Asia and Oceania. Consequently, on the basis of the close cooperative relations that have flourished over the years, I am confident that ROK-ASEAN relations will continue to develop in a more future-oriented and comprehensive manner.

Clearly, ROK-ASEAN relations have reached a high level of maturity owing to the continued interest and cooperation of both sides. If our past efforts were focused on developing channels for mutual dialogue with ASEAN, it is my hope that we can now direct our efforts towards structuring these channels in a systematic manner to facilitate constructive discussions on further enhancing ROK-ASEAN cooperation as well as establishing an 『East Asia Community』.

In closing, please allow me to express, once again, my heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN, and my sincere wishes for highly fruitful results from today’s seminar.

Thank you.
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