Press Conference 11 December 2003

First session of the Japan-ASEAN Commemorative Summit

Press Secretary Hatsuhisa Takashima: I am sorry to have kept you waiting. Thank you very much for coming to the briefing. My name is Hatsuhisa Takashima and I am press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. I would like to give an on-the-record briefing on the first session of the Japan-ASEAN Commemorative Summit.

The Japan-ASEAN Commemorative Summit opened at 13:30 at the Akasaka State Guest House in Tokyo. This summit meeting, as you know, is the first Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit to be held outside of the ASEAN region. Japan is very honored to have this very historic meeting here in Tokyo.

After the photo session, the leaders got together at the State Guest House, and the first session opened at 13:35 this afternoon and ended at 15:10. The leaders went to the Imperial Palace to see Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan. This evening, they will attend an official dinner hosted by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan at the Imperial Hotel.

Let me give you some outline of the first session. This session was designated for the review of the 30-some year history of Japan-ASEAN relations and to evaluate what these relations have achieved so far.

At the outset, Prime Minister Koizumi as the chair of this special summit meeting made the opening remarks welcoming and appreciating their efforts to come to Tokyo. He said that the history of exchange between Japan and Southeast Asian nations dates back to the 14th century.

In recent years, back in 1977, then Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda of Japan first emphasized the importance of a good neighborhood between Japan and ASEAN. Now that relationship has developed into what Prime Minister Koizumi said is a real partnership, "acting together and advancing together" for the future. Prime Minister Koizumi emphasized that the Japanese policy of putting emphasis on ASEAN is unshakable, and he is determined to continue this policy for the years to come. He then handed over the chairmanship to President Megawati Soekarnoputri of the Republic of Indonesia.

President Megawati officially opened the discussion and said that this special summit meeting would further strengthen the relationship between Japan and ASEAN. She expressed an expectation that this conference would be an opportunity to promote further and deepened relations between Japan and ASEAN and set the guidelines for the future relationship toward the 21st century.

After that, the leaders of ASEAN countries made remarks for about eight to ten minutes each and expressed their views on the history of Japan-ASEAN relations, the bilateral relations between Japan and each nation and their hope for the future.

I think I can summarize the issues most commonly touched upon by the leaders into three basic points.

Firstly, they emphasized the change of the nature of the partnership between Japan and ASEAN. They said that the partnership used to be limited to economic and development areas, but now it is developing into the fields of politics and security. This change or transformation can be highlighted by the Japanese willingness to enter the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC), which is considered to be the basic treaty for the ASEAN movement. Many leaders congratulated or welcomed Japan's decision to sign this Treaty of Amity and Cooperation.

As a footnote, let me say a few words on the Japanese position on the procedural matters of entering into the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. Tomorrow, the Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi of Japan will sign a document which states the Japanese intention to sign the treaty. It is not the signing of the treaty itself. A few more procedural matters are required before Japan goes into the position of signing the treaty, and therefore tomorrow there will be a signing of this document.

Secondly, many leaders touched upon the future direction of cooperation between Japan and ASEAN, saying that the relationship between Japan and ASEAN will be the core of regional cooperation which may lead to an East Asian community type of arrangement. This is one of the most commonly talked about subjects.

Thirdly, they also touched upon the new development of ASEAN in the economic field. Some leaders mentioned that the relations between Japan and ASEAN used to be that of donor and recipient of development assistance, but now it is becoming a relation of equality. In reality, one very good example is the arrangement of the economic partnership agreement (EPA) which is already existing between Japan and Singapore.

As I have said at an earlier briefing, Japan, with Malaysia, the Kingdom of Thailand and the Republic of the Philippines today reached a basic agreement to initiate official negotiations for EPAs. Indeed, Japan and ASEAN as a whole intends to have a kind of regional arrangement by the year 2014 after 10 years of negotiation designated to start in the year 2005. This arrangement should be made possible after bilateral EPAs are reached by each individual nation.

I should add one thing. One of the leaders, after hearing many words of praise and appreciation of the Japanese cooperation in the past and the Japanese contribution for economic development in the ASEAN region, said that there have been good things and he did not use the words "bad things" but "unsatisfactory things" exist in the relations between Japan and ASEAN. He said that in addition to all those good things mentioned by the other leaders, Japan was a driving force or locomotive of ASEAN development by three factors: 1) direct investment, 2) Official Development Assistance (ODA), and 3) the empowerment and training of the workers and personnel working at factories and in various sectors of industry.

At the same time, according to him, there have been some shortcomings on the side of Japan. Firstly, if Japan had done technology transfer at a much earlier stage, it would have helped ASEAN countries further. Secondly, if Japanese corporations and companies promoted the local staff to the top level of management, it would have helped more in the advancement of the activities of those companies and corporations in local communities and also local economies in each of the ASEAN nations. Thirdly, if Japan had opened its market much earlier and more extensively, it would have helped further the collaboration of Japan-ASEAN economic relations. He said that those are the things which should be dealt with as major factors for the further development of economic relations between Japan and ASEAN for the years to come.

After hearing all those remarks, Prime Minister Koizumi said that he was grateful for the words of appreciation and thanks from all of the leaders for the past collaboration and cooperation. Prime Minister Koizumi said that he listened carefully to the words of leaders and accepted them and he would utilize what he learned from today's meeting for the formulation of future Japanese policy towards ASEAN. He also said that with the initiation of the EPA negotiation with Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia, Japan would further try to be a more cooperative partner with ASEAN nations and would try to make these relations the base for future prosperity and a peaceful environment in East Asia as a whole.

Session of the Japan-ASEAN Commemorative Summit on 12 December

Mr. Takashima: Tomorrow the meeting will be discussing the future direction and the future agenda of ASEAN and Japan before the signing ceremony of the basic documents and action plan and also the paper I mentioned on the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation.

Question on statement made during the first session

Q: Who was the dissident who raised those issues?

Mr. Takashima: It was Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong of the Republic of Singapore.

Questions on the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC)

Q: One more thing, are there procedural matters related to the signing of TAC?

Mr. Takashima: Japan will sign the treaty in due course, but some procedural matters are necessary. There will be no change of mind at all.

Q: Could you give some more details on what the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation actually is?

Mr. Takashima: Prime Minister Koizumi said during the course of this discussion that the decision by the Japanese Government to enter the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation is based upon the recognition of the fact that it has a very symbolic significance to show that Japan is a partner with ASEAN, working together and advancing together.

Q: When is Japan going to sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation? Will it sign it at the next summit?

Mr. Takashima: I do not have any information when the actual signing will occur, but we will do it in due course.

Question on whether or not there was mention of agriculture

Q: Was there any question or mention of Japan's agricultural markets?

Mr. Takashima: Not today, but obviously agriculture is one of the most sensitive areas Japan has, and so with the leadership of Prime Minister Koizumi, Japan has to first do some homework within the Government and also within society, but Prime Minister Koizumi has already said that Japan will not be an agriculturally isolated country.

Question on whether or not there was mention of efforts to combat terrorism

Q: Was there any mention of efforts to combat terrorism?

Mr. Takashima: Actually terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, security and transnational crime will be discussed tomorrow. So there was no mention today. They only touched upon a review of the history and evaluation of the achievements.

Q: Will transnational crime include piracy?

Mr. Takashima: Yes, terrorism, piracy, drugs, some technology related to weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.

Question on whether or not the issue of Aung San Suu Kyi will be raised at the summit

Q: Will the leaders discuss anything on the issue of Aung San Suu Kyi be raised at the summit meeting?

Mr. Takashima: The ground rule of this special commemorative summit meeting is that there will not be any agenda which directly relates to individual countries. The discussion is and will be focused on the overall relations between Japan and ASEAN, and therefore, the issue of the Union of Myanmar and the issue of Aung San Suu Kyi have been dealt with in the course of bilateral talks.

Q: So the issue will not be raised in the summit meeting.

Mr. Takashima: I do not expect so.