PHNOM PENH, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia convened a meeting with all foreign ambassadors and Charg d 'Affairs on Thursday in order to inform them the priority tasks Cambodia has set as the chair of 2012 ASEAN.
During the meeting, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told the foreign diplomats that the priority tasks for ASEAN this year include the accelerating ASEAN members' integration for the target of ASEAN Community in 2015 and the intensifying the joint efforts towards an ASEAN single market and production base in the same year.
On the political and security issues, Cambodia would urge the five nuclear countries, namely the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Russia, and France, to seal the protocol on the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone by this year.
Talking about South China Sea issue, the Cambodian minister said the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) was signed in Phnom Penh in 2002 by the ASEAN foreign ministers and their Chinese counterpart. ASEAN adopted the guidelines in July last year in Indonesia for the implementation the document.
"Cambodia has to push the full and effective implementation of DOC based on the guidelines in order to work towards the drafting of the Code of Conduct (COC)," Hor told the diplomats.
"China has expressed its stance already about the drafting of COC, it said it was ready to join with ASEAN to draft the COC," he said. "ASEAN should grasp this opportunity to work together."
The minister also reiterated that the issue of South China Sea will not be internationalized; it shall be settled under the framework of ASEAN-China.
"We will not push this work too fast; we have to work together step by step to build mutual trust between ASEAN and China," he said.
During the meeting, he also said that Cambodia would urge the release of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration in 2012, expedite efforts towards Drug Free ASEAN 2015 and protect ASEAN migrant workers.
On the economic side, Hor Namhong said in order to prevent any economic crisis in the future, the ASEAN leaders agreed to double the Chiang Mai Initiative Multi-lateralization crisis fund from 120 billion U.S. dollars to 240 billion U.S. dollars.
"We have agreed to double the reserve fund among ASEAN members, but ASEAN finance ministers need to discuss with China, Japan and South Korea for their supports," he said.
In addition, the country this year would initiate the Global- ASEAN Dialogue Forum to work with the heads of states of ASEAN dialogue partners and chiefs of international institutions and organizations in order to discuss the global challenges, such as the troubled financial system, food safety, energy security, and climate change.
Those to-discuss-with organizations include the UN, the World Bank, the IMF, the Asian Development Bank, the WTO.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
During the meeting, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong told the foreign diplomats that the priority tasks for ASEAN this year include the accelerating ASEAN members' integration for the target of ASEAN Community in 2015 and the intensifying the joint efforts towards an ASEAN single market and production base in the same year.
On the political and security issues, Cambodia would urge the five nuclear countries, namely the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Russia, and France, to seal the protocol on the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone by this year.
Talking about South China Sea issue, the Cambodian minister said the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) was signed in Phnom Penh in 2002 by the ASEAN foreign ministers and their Chinese counterpart. ASEAN adopted the guidelines in July last year in Indonesia for the implementation the document.
"Cambodia has to push the full and effective implementation of DOC based on the guidelines in order to work towards the drafting of the Code of Conduct (COC)," Hor told the diplomats.
"China has expressed its stance already about the drafting of COC, it said it was ready to join with ASEAN to draft the COC," he said. "ASEAN should grasp this opportunity to work together."
The minister also reiterated that the issue of South China Sea will not be internationalized; it shall be settled under the framework of ASEAN-China.
"We will not push this work too fast; we have to work together step by step to build mutual trust between ASEAN and China," he said.
During the meeting, he also said that Cambodia would urge the release of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration in 2012, expedite efforts towards Drug Free ASEAN 2015 and protect ASEAN migrant workers.
On the economic side, Hor Namhong said in order to prevent any economic crisis in the future, the ASEAN leaders agreed to double the Chiang Mai Initiative Multi-lateralization crisis fund from 120 billion U.S. dollars to 240 billion U.S. dollars.
"We have agreed to double the reserve fund among ASEAN members, but ASEAN finance ministers need to discuss with China, Japan and South Korea for their supports," he said.
In addition, the country this year would initiate the Global- ASEAN Dialogue Forum to work with the heads of states of ASEAN dialogue partners and chiefs of international institutions and organizations in order to discuss the global challenges, such as the troubled financial system, food safety, energy security, and climate change.
Those to-discuss-with organizations include the UN, the World Bank, the IMF, the Asian Development Bank, the WTO.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
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