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ASEAN Chair's statement following 22 Feb meeting in Jakarta

At the invitation of the Chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN and their representatives met in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 22 February 2011. The Secretary-General of ASEAN also participated in the meeting.

The meeting discussed recent regional and international development, including the recent border incidents between Cambodia and Thailand.

In this connection, pursuant to the earlier written communications, Indonesia, Chair of ASEAN, further briefed the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN and their representatives on the result of the visits by the Foreign Minister of Indonesia to Phnom Penh and Bangkok on 7-8 February 2011, as well as on the meeting of the Security Council on 14 February 2011.

The Foreign Ministers of Cambodia and Thailand further briefed the ASEAN Foreign Ministers on the issue.

Following extensive discussions among them, the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN and their representatives:

"Welcome and support the reiteration by both Cambodia and Thailand, of their strong commitment to the principles contained in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia and the ASEAN Charter, including “settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful means” and “renunciation of the threat or use of force”, as well as the principles contained in the Charter of the United Nations;

Welcome further the engagement of Cambodia and Thailand with Indonesia, Chair of ASEAN, in the latter's efforts on behalf of ASEAN;

Recall the support extended by the United Nations Security Council to ASEAN's efforts;
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Support Cambodia's and Thailand's commitment, henceforth, to avoid further armed clashes as reflected in the initial high level talks between the military representatives of Cambodia and of Thailand, the most recent of which was on 19 February 2011;

Welcome in this regard, the invitation by both Cambodia and Thailand for observers from Indonesia, current Chair of ASEAN, to respective side of the affected areas of the Cambodia-Thailand border, to observe the commitment by both sides to avoid further armed clashes between them, with the following basic mandate:

“to assist and support the parties in respecting their commitment to avoid further armed clashes between them, by observing and reporting accurately, as well as impartially on complaints of violations and submitting its findings to each party through Indonesia, current Chair of ASEAN”;

Call on Cambodia and Thailand to resume their bilateral negotiations, including through existing mechanisms, at the earliest possible opportunity, with appropriate engagement of Indonesia, current Chair of ASEAN, to support the two countries' efforts to resolve the situation amicably;

Welcome in this regard the future meetings respectively of the Thai-Cambodian Joint Commission on the Demarcation for Land Boundary and the General Border Committee at a date to be further determined;

Request Indonesia, Chair of ASEAN, to continue ASEAN's efforts in this regard".

Ministers also exchanged views on other regional and international issues, as well as issues related to ASEAN Community-building and ASEAN's role in the region's architecture building, including the forthcoming ASEAN Foreign Ministers retreat on East Asia Summit to be convened in Thailand in March 2011.

Source: 
<p>http://www.aseansec.org/documents/N110222.pdf</p>

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