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Since the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-98, the ten ASEAN
countries have initiated a regular series of meetings at the
cabinet and head-of-government levels with their counterparts
from Japan, China, and Korea. These have included annual meetings
of the ASEAN ministers of foreign affairs, trade and investment,
and finance, with counterparts of the three northeast Asian
countries. In addition, heads of government from the 13 countries
meet during ASEAN's annual Summits, gatherings which also
usually include meetings between the 13 countries' ministers
of trade, finance, and foreign affairs.
These meetings take place both on a "10 + 3" as well as a
"10 + 1" basis. They are generally held during scheduled annual
meetings of the various ASEAN forums, although ASEAN and the
+3 countries also meet at other points during the year on
an ad-hoc basis. These meetings have been useful in fostering
increased cooperation and consultation among the 13 countries.
The Second Informal ASEAN Summit, hosted by Kuala Lumpur
in December, 1997, included the participation of China, Japan,
and Korea for the first time. Held amid deep concern over
the Asian Financial Crisis, that meeting institutionalized
the involvement of the +3 countries. The discussions focused
on promoting good-neighborly and friendly relations with China,
increasing high-level exchanges, and strengthening various
dialogue mechanisms. In a joint statement, the leaders reaffirmed
support for universality of World Trade Organization membership
and for the early entry of China and of the ASEAN applicants
to the WTO.
Subsequent Summits focused on the continuing financial crisis
and its aftermath, as well as the ongoing effort to support
regional economic integration within ASEAN. Japan played a
high profile role with the announcement of large scale financial
assistance packages, as well as joint programs to broaden
economic and technical cooperation. These included a US$30
billion package of loans and grants known as the "Miyazawa
Plan," as well as Japan's support for the ASEAN Vision 2020,
a long-term vision for the economic and social development
of the ASEAN region that was adopted at the December 1997
Summit.
An East Asia Vision Group (EAVG) was initiated by Korea's
President Kim Dae-jung at the ASEAN+3 Summit in Hanoi in 1998
to discuss long-term cooperation in the region. The vision
group held five sessions from the second half of 1999 to 2001.
It was launched in Seoul in October, 1999, with former Korean
foreign minister Dr. Han Sung Joo selected as chairman. Each
of the ASEAN+3 countries was represented by two academics.
The second meeting was held in Shanghai in April 2000, the
third in Tokyo in October 2000 and the fourth in Bali in February
2001. The fifth and final meeting was held in Seoul in May
2001.
In 1999, the ASEAN Summits were broadened to include not
only heads of government of the 10+3, but their foreign, finance,
and trade ministers as well. This came in addition to the
meetings of these groups held at other points during the year.
An unprecedented joint declaration on the future of East Asia
by ASEAN, Japan, Korea, and China pledged cooperation on economic
and social development, politics, and security. The November
28, 1999 statement said that there are "bright prospects for
enhanced interaction and closer linkages in East Asia" and
targeted eight areas for cooperation, including economic,
political, security, monetary, and financial issues. The leaders
agreed to:
- accelerate the development of regional growth areas, including
the Mekong River Basin
- establish an East Asian Business Council to promote private
sector participation
- continue structural reform and to strengthen cooperation
"since these are essential to sustained economic growth
and indispensable safeguards against the recurrence of an
economic crisis in East Asia
- enhance monetary and financial cooperation by strengthening
policy dialogues, coordination, and collaboration on financial,
monetary, and fiscal issues
- intensify coordination and cooperation in various international
and regional forums such as the UN, the WTO, APEC, ASEM,
and the ARF, as well as in regional and international financial
institutions.
China also began to adopt a higher profile in these meetings.
At the November 2000 Summit in Singapore, China announced
it would raise its contribution to an ASEAN-China Cooperation
Fund by US$5 million. Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji also tabled
a proposal to set up an expert group that would study how
economic cooperation and free trade relations between ASEAN
and China could be deepened, an initiative which would subsequently
lead to the agreement between ASEAN and China to begin negotiating
an ASEAN-China free trade agreement (see below).
At their November 2000 Summit, ASEAN Leaders also agreed
to launch an Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI). The IAI
is intended to provide a framework for regional cooperation
through which the more developed ASEAN members could help
less developed members. It will focus on education, skills
development and worker training. China, Japan and South Korea
supported the IAI, and agreed to work towards an "Asian IT
[information technology] Belt" to link up cities of "IT excellence"
in Asia. In addition, Japan pledged to give priority to ASEAN
countries in the disbursement of its US$15 billion "Comprehensive
Cooperation Package" on IT for Asia, while South Korea offered
training programs in human resource development and IT.
The Leaders of ASEAN, China, Japan and South Korea emphasized
the importance of closer cooperation among the countries of
East Asia. They supported the proposal by South Korean President
Kim Dae Jung for an East Asia Study Group (EASG) (which was
established in March 2001). The purpose of the study group
is to assess the recommendations of the East Asia Vision Group
(EAVG; see above) and explore the idea and implications of
an East Asia summit. The 14-member study group consists of
13 senior officials from the ten ASEAN members plus China,
Japan and Korea along with the secretary-general of ASEAN.
A Working Group of the East Asia Study Group has been set
up to assist the senior officials.
Recent developments
Indonesia hosted the 2003 7th ASEAN + 3 Summit from October 4-8, 2003
in Bali. Chinas effective emergence as the most aggressive
new partner of ASEAN - it signed the ASEAN Treat of
Amity and Cooperation (TAC) and is signaling its firm
commitment to complete the China-ASEAN Free Trade
Agreement on schedule by 2010. China wants bilateral
trade with ASEAN to exceed US$100 billion by 2005
(which would challenge the level of Japans bilateral
trade with ASEAN; US -ASEAN bilateral trade was $120
billion in 2003).
To view HE Wen Jiabao, Premier of the State Council
of the Peoples Republic of Chinas, message
to ASEAN, click
here.
India is also moving fast to engage ASEAN, and was
represented by its Prime Minister, foreign and trade
ministers, and a strong business delegation. India
is obviously competing with China to ensure its engagement
with ASEAN is equivalent or ahead of its large neighbor
to the northeast. India also signed the ASEAN Treaty
of Amity and Cooperation, and is beginning exploratory
discussions of an India ASEAN Free Trade Agreement
(FTA).
Japans role as the regions top aid provider
and second largest (after the US) investor. While China
has seized the momentum with ASEAN, Japan is reminding
ASEAN of its long, mature and mutually beneficial relations.
To view Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumis remarks,
click
here.
For more highlights from the Summit, please click
here.
Brunei Darussalam hosted the 2001 ASEAN Summit from November
6-8. The ministers reviewed proposals for greater East Asian
economic integration, including an East Asia Free Trade Area,
which would liberalize trade ahead of APEC's goals. The EASG
is assessing the proposals, and is to issue a report at the
2002 ASEAN Summit in Cambodia.
On November 6, 2001, the ASEAN heads of government met separately
with the leaders of China, Japan, and Korea. Agreements were
reached in these discussions to strengthen cooperation between
ASEAN and the northeast Asian countries, with the highlight
being an agreement to establish an ASEAN-China Free Trade
Area within 10 years "with special and differential treatment
and flexibility to the newer ASEAN members." Leaders agreed
to instruct ministers and senior officials to start negotiations
right away. (The first round of discussions, held in Beijing
on May 14, 2002, agreed to finalize an outline accord on the
establishment of an ASEAN-China FTA by the end of the year).
In addition, China agreed to grant special preferential tariff
treatment for some goods from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar,
and also offered US$5 million for Mekong River development.
The ASEAN Leaders' Meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi
welcomed the establishment of a group of experts to study
how ASEAN's economic partnership with Japan can be deepened,
and agreed to give full support to this group. The joint statement
said that Japan "was at the forefront of international efforts
to help Southeast Asia adjust to the financial shocks of 1997,"
and expressed the hope that efforts to reform the Japanese
economy would help reverse the economic downturn in the region
and encourage new flows of Japanese investment towards Southeast
Asia. ASEAN ministers also asked the Japanese Prime Minister
to explore the possibility of setting up training and education
institutions in various ASEAN countries.
ASEAN and Korea also discussed ways to broaden cooperation
and enhance economic relations. ASEAN welcomed a $2 million
Korean contribution to a special development fund, and invited
Korea to participate in the ASEAN Mekong Basin Development
Cooperation initiative. A copy of the Chairman's Statement
from the ASEAN + 1 Summits can be found here
The ASEAN+3 has no formal Secretariat, as the meetings are
coordinated by the host country. However, during a visit to
Tokyo in late May 2002, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohamad raised the issue of the setting up of an ASEAN+3 secretariat
in Malaysia, a proposal that Japan reportedly supported. Subsequently,
the Malaysian foreign ministry announced that it would provide
US$10 million in funding for the Secretariat. The proposal
was discussed at the July 2002 ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meetings,
but no agreement was reached.
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ASEAN finance ministers have met regularly with their +3
counterparts since 1997. Discussions have focused on financial
sector cooperation, a surveillance process by which countries
could provide early warnings where there are indications of
impending financial sector turmoil, and on the Chiang Mai
Initiative, a network of bilateral currency swap arrangements
(BSAs) among the ASEAN countries, China, Japan, and Korea.
The BSAs are intended to provide liquidity support to members
in the event of temporary balance of payment difficulties.
BSAs are intended to be complementary and supplementary to
IMF facilities. The terms and modalities of the BSA would
take into account the different economic fundamentals, specific
circumstances and financing needs of individual countries.
The ASEAN + 3 Finance Ministers met again in May 2001 in
Honolulu, on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
annual meeting. Discussions focused on enhancing policy dialogues
and regional cooperation activities, particularly in the areas
of regional self-help and support mechanisms, international
financial reform and short-term capital flows monitoring.
They agreed to exchange data on capital flows bilaterally
among member countries on a voluntary basis. They discussed
progress up to that point in implementing the Chiang Mai Initiative,
and agreed to review the current main principles of the bilateral
swap arrangement under the CMI in 2003.
In October 2001 and February 2001, China arranged for training
courses on Economic Reforms and Development in China for the
ASEAN + 3 Finance and Central Bank officials. In addition,
Korea supported a working visit by ASEAN senior officials
to Seoul in October 2000 and proposed training programs on
financial and corporate restructuring for ASEAN Finance and
Central Bank officials. In addition, in November 2000, Korea
organized an international seminar on early warning system
modeling and joint regional monitoring.
Japan also offered financial assistance to ASEAN members,
through the ASEAN Secretariat, in the monitoring of capital
flows in the region and the study of other appropriate mechanisms
to promote financial stability.
At the May 2001 ASEAN + 3 Finance Ministers meeting, ministers
agreed to continue to exchange views on the early warning
systems and to work towards developing appropriate early warning
system models for East Asian countries.
Recent Developments
During the April 2002 ASEAN Finance Ministers Meeting, ASEAN
finance ministers held talks with their counterparts from
China, Japan, and Korea, and discussed expanding the network
of regional BSAs. On May 10, they met again in Shanghai on
May 10, 2002, on the sidelines of the annual Asian Development
Bank Meeting. In a joint statement, the ministers expressed
optimism that the global economy would gradually recover in
2002, and pledged to put greater effort toward expediting
structural reforms, particularly to enhance the regulatory
and supervisory framework, and measures to accelerate the
pace of on-going financial and corporate sector restructuring.
Their statement noted that under the Chiang Mai Initiative,
BSAs have been completed between Japan-Korea, Japan-Thailand,
Japan-the Philippines, Japan-Malaysia, China-Thailand, and
China-Japan, with a combined size of US$ 17 billion. Negotiations
on a number of other BSAs are at various stages.
For a copy of the joint statement from the May 2002 ASEAN+3
Finance Ministers Meeting, click
here. For more on the Chiang Mai Initiative, the ASEAN
Surveillance process, and other areas of ASEAN financial sector
cooperation, click
here.
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ASEAN ministers for trade and investment have met regularly
with their Northeast Asian counterparts since 1999, when the
ministers of trade, finance, and foreign affairs held an unprecedented
meeting in November of that year, during the ASEAN Summit.
In their follow up meeting in October 2000 in Chiang Mai,
Thailand, the thirteen ministers agreed to focus on priority
areas of cooperation, including strengthening efforts in accelerating
trade, investment and technology transfer; encouraging technical
cooperation in information technology and e-commerce; and,
strengthening small and medium sized enterprises and supporting
industries. The Ministers tasked Senior Economic Officials
(SEOM) to come up with project proposals in those priority
areas. Significantly, the ministers also agreed to institutionalize
the AEM+3 and SEOM+3 process. For a copy of the statement
from the October 2000 ASEAN+3 Economic Ministers Meeting,
click
here.
At their next meeting in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on May 3-4,
2001, the ASEAN trade ministers and deputies, along with their
+3 counterparts, endorsed six areas of future cooperation
focusing on developing technology skills, small and medium
enterprises, environmental protection and raising quality
standards for products and services.
- Strengthening the Competitiveness of ASEAN SMEs: To address
the challenges and opportunities of globalization, the project
would allow SMEs to establish SME networks and gain experience
in technical and managerial skills to further enhance their
productivity.
- Training Program on Practical Technology for Environmental
Protection: The project offers practical training in environmental
protection, in particular on water pollution treatment.
- Asian Common Skill Standard Initiative for IT Engineers:
By adopting a common skill standard for IT engineers, countries
would be in a better position to address the shortage of
IT personnel. The project will allow countries to share
information in setting such standards, in particular, the
development of IT Engineer Examinations.
- Conformity Assessment Development Program in Industrial
Standards: The project will enhance the competency of countries'
conformity assessment systems, especially in the areas of
testing, inspection and quality/environment management,
to ensure their products and services meet international
standards. Such competency would also promote greater participation
on the part of ASEAN and Northeast Asian countries in international
mutual recognition arrangements.
- Software Development in the Mekong Basin Project: Human
resource development is crucial for countries in the Mekong
Basin to continue to attract foreign direct investment and
trade. The project offers courses on laws and practices
pertaining to international trade and investment and English
language training to further enhance human resources in
the Mekong Basin.
- ASEAN Satellite Image Archive and Environmental Study:
One of the important challenges facing the region is the
impact of rapid modernization and industrialization on the
environment in areas such as deforestation, water quality,
flooding, longer dry seasons, and public health. The project
will allow countries to share existing resources in remote
sensing and satellite image archives to study, manage and
resolve these environmental problems.
Ministers also agreed to step up efforts to expand free trade
links with the three Northeast Asian countries as well as
with Australia and New Zealand. They expressed support for
the launching of the new round of WTO negotiations, and for
the acceleration of the WTO accession process for Cambodia,
China, Laos and Viet Nam. They emphasized the need for a "balanced"
agenda in order for the interests of developing countries
to be taken into account in any new round of WTO negotiations.
For a copy of the joint statement from this meeting, click
here .
The September 2001 AEM +3 meetings were held in Hanoi, and
to some extent were overshadowed by the September 11 terrorist
attacks in the United States. In their joint statement, the
ministers expressed concern that the strong economic growth
in 2000 would not continue in 2001-2002 in view of the slow
down in the US, EU and Japan (and subsequently, in light of
the impact of the terrorist attacks). Ministers therefore
reiterated their commitment to maintain outward looking policies
to attract trade and investment and bolster economic growth
and underlined the importance of continuing regional economic
integration as a means to promote trade and investment flows.
The Ministers supported the launch of a new round of WTO negotiations
at Doha, and reiterated their concerns that developing countries'
needs must be seriously considered and emphasized the need
for more enhanced capacity building to assist implementation.
For a copy of the joint statement from the September 2001
AEM-Japan meeting, click
here. For a copy of the statement from the AEM-China-Korea
meeting, click
here.
Recent Developments
The next AEM+3 meeting was held in Brunei Darussalam
in September, 2002.
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In a November 6, 2001 meeting between the ASEAN heads of
government and the Chinese leadership, the leaders endorsed
the establishment of an ASEAN-China Free Trade Area within
10 years "with special and differential treatment and flexibility
to the newer ASEAN members," according to the communiqué issued
afterward. Leaders agreed to instruct ministers and senior
officials to start negotiations right away. In addition, China
agreed to grant special preferential tariff treatment for
some goods from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, and also offered
$5 million for Mekong River development. An ASEAN-China experts
group had been formed the previous year to study ways in which
to enhance ASEAN-China relations and had been expected to
recommend a free trade agreement in a study that was tabled
at the November 2001 meeting, but most observers - including
Japan -- were surprised at the speed with which the proposal
was endorsed.
On May 14, 2002, senior economic officials from China and
ASEAN agreed to conclude an outline accord on the establishment
of an ASEAN-China free trade area by the end of 2002. The
framework accord would serve as the legal blueprint for the
agreement, and set down guidelines and principles for establishing
a free trade area, which would take into account the different
levels of development between ASEAN countries and China. Trade
officials agreed to set up an ASEAN-China Trade Negotiating
Committee to develop the proposed accord, which would be concluded
prior to the ASEAN-China Summit in Cambodia in December 2002.
(For a copy of the joint statement from the senior economic
officials' meeting, click
here).
While there is concern in ASEAN about the competition from
China for investment and export markets, there is also a growing
recognition that such a free trade area could bring significant
economic benefits. According to the study prepared by the
ASEAN-China experts group, such an agreement could boost ASEAN's
exports to China by 48% and China's exports to ASEAN by 55%,
would add a nearly a percentage point to ASEAN GDP, and add
about one-third of a percentage point to China's GDP. (A copy
of the report, entitled "Forging Closer ASEAN-China Economic
Relations in the 21st Century" is available on the ASEAN Secretariat
Web site. Click
here for a copy)
Recent Developments
- Press reports in mid-August 2002 indicated that the
ASEAN-China FTA framework agreement would be submitted
for initial approval to the ASEAN and Chinese trade
minsters during the annual AEM meetings in Brunei. Along
with the Framework Agreement, an "early harvest"
package, which would include tariff reductions on over
a thousand agricultural and industrial goods, would
also be submitted.
- At the 7th ASEAN+3 Summit held in Bali, Indonesia,
October, 2003, China emerged as the most aggressive
new partner of ASEAN - it signed the ASEAN Treat of
Amity and Cooperation (TAC) and is signaling its firm
commitment to complete the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement
on schedule by 2010. China wants bilateral trade with
ASEAN to exceed US$100 billion by 2005 (which would
challenge the level of Japans bilateral trade
with ASEAN; US -ASEAN bilateral trade was $120 billion
in 2003).
ASEAN and China to start free trade initiative with special tariff
cuts
Trade ministers of the ASEAN member nations met in
Bali in December 2003 with their counterparts from China,
Japan and South Korea. ASEAN and China agreed to go
ahead with plans to establish the world's largest free
trade area, in term of population, with a special round
of tariff cuts.
China has
agreed to grant ASEAN a three-year "early harvest" tariff program.
Under this program, China will grant concessionary tariffs to ASEAN for
a host of agricultural and manufactured goods from January next year.
This comes ahead of an actual tariff-reduction pact under the ASEAN-China
FTA.
ASEAN is reciprocating
by giving tariff cuts under a "tariff harmonised system" for
certain agricultural products, like meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and
milk.
The FTA in
goods will be established by 2010 for the six original ASEAN members,
including Singapore, and five years later for the four newer members.
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The November 2001 ASEAN leaders' meeting with Japanese Prime
Minister Koizumi welcomed the establishment of a group of
experts to study how ASEAN's economic partnership with Japan
can be deepened, and agreed to give full support to this group.
The joint statement said that Japan "was at the forefront
of international efforts to help Southeast Asia adjust to
the financial shocks of 1997," and expressed the hope that
efforts to reform the Japanese economy would help reverse
the economic downturn in the region and encourage new flows
of Japanese investment towards Southeast Asia.
Prime Minster Junichiro Koiziumi visited the ASEAN region
in January 2002 with a set of vaguely-defined proposals for
greater ASEAN-Japan economic integration. By that point, Japan
had already completed negotiations on a free trade agreement
with Singapore. In a policy address in Singapore on January
14, Prime Minister Koizumi called for closer economic and
security ties between Japan and ASEAN. He said he believed
the Free Trade Agreement signed with Singapore could serve
as a model for the entire region. He acknowledged, however,
similar deals could not be struck "overnight." "Japan wants
to cooperate not only with Singapore, but with members of
ASEAN in as wide-ranging a way as possible," Koizumi said.
"But instead of trying to conclude pacts with a deadline,
I think it is important to deepen cooperation in that direction
(first)." In the speech, Koizumi proposed as a centerpiece
to his plan an "Initiative for Japan-ASEAN Comprehensive Economic
Partnership." Such a partnership would strengthen economic
cooperation by going beyond trade and investment to such areas
as science and technology, human resource development and
tourism, he said. (a copy of this policy address is available
here).
Economic experts from Japan and ASEAN met in Bangkok two
weeks later to develop a policy framework to enhance Japan-ASEAN
economic integration. The ASEAN-Japan expert group on Closer
Economic Partnership (CEP) aimed not only to discuss trade
liberalization in goods and services but also cooperation
on investment, tourism, intellectual property and competition
policy. According to press reports, Japanese officials said
the ASEAN-Japan CEP scheme would resemble the Japan-Singapore
New Age Partnership signed earlier in the month by Prime Minister
Koizumi and Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. The group
will submit a report and a recommendation paper to the ASEAN
economic ministers and Japanese Trade and Industry Minister
at the ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) meeting in Brunei in
September 2002.
Recent Developments
The Japanese and the 10 ASEAN Leaders have wrapped
up their two-day ASEAN-Japan Summit on December 12,
2003. The Summit marks Japan's three decades of ties
with ASEAN and is the first meeting of 10 ASEAN Leaders
held in a non-member country. At the end of the summit,
the leaders signed the Tokyo Declaration for the Dynamic
and Enduring Japan-ASEAN Partnership in the New Millennium,
and pledged the creation of an East Asian community
to enhance cooperation. ASEAN would also work with its
other dialogue partners -- China and South Korea --
to develop the East Asian community.
The
leaders also signed the ASEAN-Japan Plan of Action,
listing measures to implement the Tokyo Declaration.
The Action Plan includes cooperation for reinforcing
integration of ASEAN, cooperation for enhancing economic
competitiveness of ASEAN and cooperation for addressing
terrorism, piracy and other transnational issues. In
the Action Plan, the leaders agreed to make every effort
to start talks on a comprehensive economic partnership
agreement in 2005 and aim to realize such pact, including
elements of a free trade area, by 2012, by taking into
account the economic levels and sensitive sectors in
each country.
- To
read the ASEAN-Japan Plan of Action, click
here
At the Summit, Japan promised to provide about US$3
billion in funds for projects in Southeast Asia over
the next three years. This includes $1.5 billion to
promote human-resources development programs and another
$1.5 billion over three years for projects that aimed
at the development of the Mekong River region. This
will also assist in developing the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines
East ASEAN Growth Area.
Japan also declared its intention to sign the Treaty
of Amity Cooperation (TAC) with ASEAN, after receiving
parliamentary approval. China and India signed the TAC
in October during the 9th ASEAN Summit in Bali.
Japan announced it would continue to earmark 30 percent
of its foreign aid budget for ASEAN countries. Japan
is ASEAN's number-two trading partner and investor,
second only to the United States. ASEAN's annual trade
with Japan was worth an estimated $123 billion last
year.
PM Koizumi dismissed the perception that Japan hosted
the summit because of concerns about China's growing
political and economic influence in the ASEAN region.
He said that China's rapid growth should be seen not
as a threat but rather as an opportunity for Japan and
the region.
PM Koizumi also met with the leaders of Thailand, Malaysia,
and the Philippines on the sidelines of the Summit.
PM Koizumi promised all three that he would open talks
on free trade deals in early 2004. Japan has signed
free trade agreement with Singapore, which has no farm
exports. Japan fiercely protects its agricultural sector
and has not committed to a timetable for that sector.
By contrast, China has promised ASEAN to make progress
on trade in farm goods in just two years. China and
ASEAN are trying to finalize their own trade pact by
2010.
Aside from trade and investment issues, security was
also discussed at the Summit. Japan and ASEAN discussed
cooperation to prevent terror attacks. PM Koizumi also
shared with the ASEAN leaders Japan's plan to send Japanese
troops to Iraq to offer non-combat support to the U.S.-led
reconstruction of Iraq.
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