ASEAN related Summit Meetings: Prime Minister Kan Announces Support for the Strengthening of ASEAN Connectivity

October 29, 2010

On October 29 and 30, Mr. Naoto Kan, Prime Minister of Japan, attended the ASEAN related Summit meetings in Ha Noi, Viet Nam. At the Japan-ASEAN Summit on October 29, Prime Minister Kan announced that Japan would support ASEAN's efforts to strengthen its Connectivity* toward the achievement of the goal of establishing an ASEAN Community by 2015, and launch work for formulating a new declaration and a plan of action that would stipulate Japan-ASEAN relations, based on the basic recognition that the stability and prosperity of ASEAN is important for the stability and prosperity of not only Japan but East Asia as well. ASEAN member countries welcomed this announcement.

At the ASEAN Plus Three Summit that followed, Prime Minister Kan welcomed developments in financial cooperation, including the realization of Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM). The leaders of other countries also stated their high appreciation of the developments in financial cooperation and expressed expectations for them. Each state emphasized the importance of practical cooperation under the framework of ASEAN Plus Three, and praised the ongoing expansion of areas for such cooperation.

At the 2nd Mekong-Japan Summit Meeting held the same day, the leaders confirmed the advancement of cooperation between Japan and Mekong region countries since the first meeting held in 2009, and adopted the Action Plan for the "A Decade Toward the Green Mekong" Initiative, which stipulates specific efforts in the area of the environment and climate change, and the "Mekong-Japan Economic and Industrial Cooperation Initiative (MJ-CI) Action Plan," which specifies matters such as infrastructure development based on recommendations from the business community.

At the East Asia Summit (EAS) on October 30, Prime Minister Kan welcomed the participation of the United States and Russia, stating that it was important that member countries take the two nation's attendance as an opportunity to strengthen efforts in the areas of politics and security while at the same time further developing efforts in the area of the economy. The leaders at the meeting adopted the Ha Noi Declaration on the Commemoration of the Fifth Anniversary of the East Asia Summit which includes EAS principles, the accomplishments so far, and the intention to further strengthen the EAS going forward.

During the period of the ASEAN related Summit meetings, a Japan-China-ROK Trilateral Summit Meeting was also held, in which the leaders of the three countries welcomed the advancement of cooperation in various areas such as trade and investment and exchanged views on further strengthening of the trilateral cooperation and on regional and international issues.

Prime Minister Kan paid an official visit to Viet Nam on October 30 and 31. During a Japan-Viet Nam Summit Meeting, Prime Minister Kan and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam signed the Japan-Viet Nam Joint Statement on the Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia. At the meeting, the Vietnamese side announced in the joint statement that it had decided to choose Japan as its cooperation partner for building two reactors at the second nuclear power plant site and for the investigation, exploration, and utilization of rare earths, among other activity.

Through the series of meetings, Japan further strengthened cooperative relations with ASEAN and other East Asian countries, including its support for ASEAN's efforts to strengthen Connectivity.

* Note: ASEAN adopted the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity in its Summit on October 28. It is an ASEAN initiative to enhance economic integration within the region, aiming for the establishment of the ASEAN Community in 2015, by promoting the facilitation of logistics and the flow of goods and people through measures such as the development of railways, roads, and other cross-border infrastructure, and the standardization of customs procedure and other systems.