Press Conference by the Press Secretary July 29, 1997

1. Press conference announcements
   1. The Fourth ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Ministerial Meeting
   2. Achievements of the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Meeting

1. Press conference announcements
   1. The Fourth ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Ministerial Meeting

      Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hiroshi Hashimoto: The Fourth ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Ministerial Meeting has achieved the following: frank exchanges of views on issues including regional stability, including sensitive issues concerning the internal politics of participating nations such as Cambodia and Myanmar, are becoming established practice; it has been affirmed that considerations at the government level on preventive diplomacy, the first stage of the ARF process, will be initiated; and the steady implementation of confidence-building measures has also been affirmed. At the meeting, Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda stressed that steady implementation and promotion of confidence-building, as well as efforts toward preventive diplomacy, are vital. In terms of the regional situation, Foreign Minister Ikeda stressed: the need for progress with democratization in Myanmar; the importance of stabilizing Cambodia's internal political situations, observing the Paris Peace Accords and implementing fair elections there; and the importance of the realization of the Four-party Talks regarding the Korean Peninsula and supporting the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO). He also explained about the Review of the Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation.

   2. Achievements of the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Meeting

      Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hiroshi Hashimoto: At the ASEAN+10 Meeting which took place yesterday in Kuala Lumpur, there was an active exchange of views on a wide range of matters, including regional cooperation such as development in the Mekong River Delta, extraregional political issues such as the situation in the Middle East and in Europe, international economic matters such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Denver Summit and global issues such as the environment and global warming, terrorism and narcotics. This meeting was a good opportunity for the members of ASEAN and extraregional nations to carry on dialogue about diverse issues which must be addressed in the international community.