Actions Speak Louder than Words—Even in Asia

Tasha Haug / July 07, 2010

Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, current Chairman of ASEAN, has returned from the G-20 summit in Toronto, just in time to host the upcoming 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministerial Meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam. Dung has proven himself to be more of an active leader than prior ASEAN chairmen. This past year has been marked by a push for new projects such as the ASEAN Customs National Single Window Initiative, TPP agreements, and a call to meet the goal for regional integration by 2015. At the end of this month, Dung has the opportunity to inspire his colleagues to action.

The 2010 ASEAN meeting will be more of a challenge than any prior summit. This year, the organization will review each country’s progress in fulfilling the pillars of the ASEAN Charter. It is imperative that, in order to continue to be seen as a legitimate regional organization, ASEAN demonstrates to Asia and the world that it is an active organization fulfilling its objectives.

The 10 foreign ministers of the organization will be meeting from July 19–23 to discuss how to make the visions of the ASEAN Charter a reality, and how to increase regional political and security cooperation. On the agenda is a proposal for a new security plan, with a focus on non-militaristic issues, such as energy security and economic integration.  The meeting will most likely be a déjà vu experience for many of the attendees, with an all-too-familiar call for political transparency, cooperation with other regional organizations, economic integration, and stability. (more…)