Paulo Roberto de Almeida
U.S. INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT
FOR ASEAN.
Fact Sheet, U.S. Department of State
November 19. 2012
On November 19 and 20, Secretary Clinton accompanied
President Obama to the U.S.-ASEAN Leaders Meeting and East Asia Summit (EAS) in
Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Their attendance at
these events for the second consecutive year reaffirms U.S. commitment to the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and to Southeast Asia as a whole. At EAS and
the U.S.-ASEAN Leaders Meeting, the United States highlighted our broad
engagement with the region across ASEAN’s political-security, economic, and
socio-cultural pillars and introduced initiatives to deepen these ties. EAS
provided an opportunity to highlight the United States’ enduring commitment to
supporting ASEAN as it becomes a driver of peace, security, prosperity, and
democracy in the region. The United States has demonstrated our
institutional support for ASEAN in a number of ways.
The U.S. Mission to ASEAN: In June 2010, the United States became the first
non-ASEAN country to establish a dedicated Mission to ASEAN in Jakarta. Under the leadership
of Ambassador David L. Carden, the United States’ first resident
Ambassador to ASEAN, the Mission provides a venue for
regular engagement and cooperation with ASEAN as well as the most visible
symbol of our commitment to ASEAN’s success.
Support for U.S.-ASEAN
Scholarship: Building on more than 60 years of supporting scholar and student
exchanges between the United States and countries in the
region through the Fulbright Program, recruitment for the pilot U.S.-ASEAN
Fulbright initiative started this fall, with the first group of exchange
scholars beginning study in early 2013. The United States also supports both U.S. and ASEAN Member
States’ scholars working on issues central to the region through symposia held
at American University’s ASEAN Studies Center in Washington DC. Our participation in
the Brunei-U.S. English Language Enrichment Project for ASEAN reflects a
commitment to help unify the diverse members of ASEAN, improve English language
capacity, and advance educational and teaching opportunities in the region.
This five-year, $25 million initiative is supported by the governments of
Brunei and the United States with the East-West Center in Hawaii as an
implementing coordinator, and the first cohort of 59 government officials and
teacher-trainers traveled to Universiti Brunei Darussalam and East-West Center
this fall.
Institutional Support in
Disaster Management: Since mid-2011, the United States has supported a
full-time, resident Advisor to the ASEAN Secretariat’s ASEAN Regional Forum
(ARF) Unit and to broader Disaster Management efforts through the Secretariat
and ASEAN Centre for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (AHA Centre).
The Advisor works closely with ASEAN officials and our fellow ASEAN Dialogue
Partners to oversee activities such as:
The installation of a
multi-hazard Disaster Monitoring and Response System in the AHA Centre. Along
with Japan, the United States is providing the
hardware and software AHA Centre operators need to improve response times and
use relief resources more efficiently.
Building the search and
rescue capacity of ASEAN Member States and creating guidelines
for mobilization of assets for disaster relief across the region.
Supporting efforts to
share best practices in Peacekeeping Operations.
Promoting Public-Private
Dialogue Economic Partnerships: The United States has partnered with
ASEAN in private-sector outreach in several areas:
Secretary Clinton opened
the first-ever U.S.-ASEAN Business Forum in July in Siem Reap, which brought
government and private actors from across the spectrum together to find ways to
further economic engagement and integration.
The U.S. Trade and
Development Agency’s first connectivity event, which brought representatives
together from ASEAN governments, seven U.S. Government agencies, and several
private businesses. Participants shared expertise in disaster reduction and
disaster recovery, and attendees showcased technology which enables more
effective disaster preparation and emergency response.
We have supported the
ASEAN Single Window Steering Committee, which incorporates the views of businesses
active in the region into the planning for the ASEAN Single Window project, a
state-of-the-art regional electronic customs clearance information sharing
system, which will help to enable the integration of the broader ASEAN economic
community.
Economic Partnerships:
At the U.S.-ASEAN
Leaders Meeting, the United States and ASEAN announced
agreement to develop an Expanded Economic Engagement (E3) initiative. The
U.S.-ASEAN E3 will provide capacity building and technical assistance to ASEAN
members as they move toward high-standard trade obligations. The E3 will also
prioritize the negotiation of a U.S.-ASEAN Trade Facilitation Agreement, a
U.S.-ASEAN Bilateral (Regional) Investment Treaty, and a U.S.-ASEAN Agreement
on Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
We support triennial
conferences to encourage private sector engagement with ASEAN’s food security
agenda. The U.S.-funded Maximizing Agricultural Revenue through Knowledge,
Enterprise Development, and Trade (MARKET) Program is helping to carry these
critical private-public partnerships. We will support the Second Annual
Dialogue between ASEAN Agriculture Ministers and food industry business leaders
in September.
ASEAN Science &
Technology Cooperation:
Recognizing the key role
that science, technology, and health expertise play in promoting sustained
economic development, at the U.S.-ASEAN Leaders Meeting the United States and
ASEAN agreed to launch the U.S.-ASEAN Innovation in Science through Partners in
Regional Engagement (INSPIRE) initiative. Through INSPIRE, the United States will enhance our
scientific engagement and exchange across these fields with ASEAN,
complementing the existing, excellent bilateral cooperation between the United States and ASEAN member
states.
The United States funded an expert to
work closely with the ASEAN Secretariat to improve IT operations and prepare a
medium-term IT strategy that was presented to the Committee of Permanent
Representatives. In early September, the ASEAN Secretariat and United States
will jointly launch a new ASEAN Web Portal with a redesign of the front end of
the website, the creation of central repository for past, current and future
ASEAN documents, and a user-friendly interface with a searchable function.
U.S.-ASEAN Eminent
Persons Group (EPG): President Obama announced the names of the three
representatives, Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky (a former U.S. Trade
Representative), Muhtar Kent (Chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company), and
Ambassador J. Stapleton Roy (former U.S. Ambassador to Singapore, China, and Indonesia,) in November 2011 at
the U.S.-ASEAN Leaders Meeting. This year, the group met with their ASEAN
counterparts in Manila and Rangoon. In these meetings and
through extensive additional consultations, the group formulated a report
containing recommendations on enhanced U.S.-ASEAN engagement for consideration
by President Obama, Secretary Clinton, and ASEAN Leaders. The EPG report offers
expert insights on topics including engagement and integration among ASEAN
Member States across all three Pillars of the ASEAN Community:
political/security, economic, and socio-cultural. This important Presidential
initiative demonstrates our deepening engagement with multilateral institutions
in the Asia-Pacific, and specifically with ASEAN, as we celebrate the 35th
anniversary of the establishment of the U.S.-ASEAN Dialogue this year.
ASEAN Secretariat
Committee of Permanent Representatives Visit: This September, the United States sponsored a trip to Washington, DC and San Francisco, CA for the ASEAN Committee
of Permanent Representatives (CPR), led by U.S. Mission to ASEAN Ambassador
David L. Carden. The CPR oversees ASEAN Member States’ interactions with the
ASEAN Secretariat and Dialogue Partners such as the United States, and includes one
Representative from each of the 10 ASEAN Member States. During their visit, the
CPR exchanged best practices across a variety of disciplines with officials
drawn from U.S. Government, the private sector, think tanks, and universities,
with the goal of improving ASEAN’s capacity to promote sustainable development,
improve regional rule of law, and create an environment conducive to economic
growth across Southeast Asia.
Dialogue Partner/Donor
Coordination: The United States places a high priority
on outreach and collaboration with our development partners in the region and
in helping ASEAN strengthen its role in partner coordination. For example, the
USAID-AusAID-ASEAN collaboration with the MTV End Exploitation and Trafficking
(EXIT) campaign is highlighting ASEAN’s commitment to end trafficking in
persons in cooperation with its Dialogue Partners. We are also coordinating
support to the AHA Centre. The United States, Japan, Australia, the EU, and New Zealand are working directly
with the AHA Centre and the ASEAN Secretariat to balance the types of
assistance from each partner to cover AHA Centre's priority needs for systems,
staffing and training. The United States and Canada also co-chair the
working group on human rights cooperation with ASEAN.
Defense Liaison Officer: In 2011 the United
States Pacific Command (PACOM) deployed a Liaison Officer to the U.S. Mission
to ASEAN with the objectives of encouraging information-sharing between DOD and
other U.S. agencies on multi-national security programs in Southeast Asia, and
encouraging deepening and sustained engagement by DOD in ASEAN defense-related
fora such as the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM+) mechanism. Over
the past year the Mission's PACOM liaison has
assisted with arrangements for the first informal dialogue between the ASEAN
Defense Ministers and U.S. Secretary of Defense; coordinated U.S. co-chairmanship with Indonesia of the ADMM+ Expert
Working Group on Counterterrorism; and organized a PACOM-sponsored regional
workshop on environmental security.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/11/200825.htm
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