Southeast Asian leaders (from left: Gloria Arroyo of the Philippines, Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore, Surayud Chulanont of Thailand, Gen Thein Sein of Myanmar, Nguyen Tan Dung of Vietnam, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei and Hun Sen of Cambodia) are joined by foreign and economic ministers in applauding after the signing of the ASEAN charter in Singapore on November 20.

Prime Minister General Thein Sein reiterated the government’s commitment to promoting democracy and national reconsolidation in Myanmar, during a series of meetings at last week’s annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Gen Thein Sein represented Myanmar at the ASEAN summit on November 19 as well as at summits between leaders of the 10-member grouping and their counterparts from other countries in the Asia Pacific region on subsequent days.

A joint statement issued at the end of the meeting of ASEAN leaders on November 20 said Gen Thein Sein gave a briefing on the situation in Myanmar.
“[Gen Thein Sein] emphasised that the situation in Myanmar was a domestic affair and that Myanmar was fully capable of handling the situation by itself,” the statement said.

Myanmar also joined fellow ASEAN members in signing the landmark ASEAN charter in Singapore on November 20, which is intended to provide the basis to transform it into a rules-based regional organisation.

Gen Thein Sein signed the document on behalf of Myanmar at a ceremony held at the end of the one-day annual summit of the regional grouping.

The document – which transforms ASEAN, 40 years after its creation, into a legal entity that will give the group greater clout in international negotiations – will be submitted for ratification by the governments of the grouping. It is expected to come into force by November next year.

Myanmar said it is committed to ratifying the charter, which is aimed at promoting democracy and human rights throughout the region.

“ASEAN will become more important internationally,” Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong was quoted as saying by AFP.

“To make ASEAN strong and relevant, we must accelerate and deepen regional integration. The ASEAN charter is a crucial step in this process,” summit host Singapore Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong said.

“All this will pave the way for closer integration in the years ahead,” he said.
The charter upholds many longstanding policies of ASEAN, including respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality and territorial integrity of member states.

It also supports policies of non-interference in the internal affairs of member states and respect for the right of each member “to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion and coercion,” according to a copy of the document released to the press.

The charter also upholds ASEAN’s cardinal principle of reaching solutions to any regional issues through consensus, calls for enhancing consultations on matters affecting the common interests of ASEAN and aims to ensure the “rule of law, good governance, the principles of democracy and constitutional government”.

It also requires members to keep the region free of nuclear weapons, ease poverty, protect the environment and work towards an integrated market that allows for free flow of goods, services, investments and professionals.