Del Rosario on Community: We are citizens of Asean

ASEAN Leaders from left to right, Philippines’ President Benigno Aquino III, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen, Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Laos’ Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Myanmar’s President Thein Sein pose for photographs during opening ceremony of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015. AP

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario on Friday called on Filipinos to start “thinking and acting” like citizens of a region-wide entity, as he led the Philippine celebration of the formation of the Asean Community on Friday night.

“With the advent of the Asean Community, we need to begin thinking, preparing and acting in terms of being part of a region, of a community of countries. We are no longer just Filipino citizens, we are at the same time also citizens of Asean,” Del Rosario said in his speech at the Rizal Park ceremony in Manila.

Diplomats and officials from the 10 Asean member states were welcomed with a parade of paper maché giants known as “higantes,” which are the centerpiece of cultural festivities in Angono, Rizal. Fireworks and native performances also marked the occasion.

The Asean Community, which is built on three pillars—economic, political-security and socio-cultural—was launched on Dec. 31, 2015, in accordance with the Kuala Lumpur Declaration.

The declaration was signed by all the Asean countries’ leaders during the 27th Asean Summit in Malaysia.

Del Rosario noted that some people had criticized Asean for taking too long to form itself into a community, 43 years after its founding. Others, on the other hand, he said, thought a community was premature.

The 10 Asean countries had a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.6 trillion in 2014 and a total population of 625 million.

“What is clear is that the establishment of the Asean Community entails more work from us. And when I say ‘us,’ I do not only mean government representatives and those from Asean-related organizations who attend Asean meetings,” Del Rosario said.

 Marginalized sectors

“‘Us’ in Asean now more than ever includes all citizens of the Asean member states, the farmers in our provinces, youth and teachers in our schools, our business sector, the media and especially those from the underprivileged sectors of Asean society, our elderly, our migrant workers, our children, women and those who are victims of trafficking, natural disasters and the adverse effects of climate change,” the foreign secretary said.

As one of its aims, the Asean Community will bring together the 10 member states, combining their economic forces. Its vision is to create a single market with a free flow of goods, capital and skilled labor.

The Asean members have begun making initiatives to widen and deepen the integration. The Asean leaders have charted its continued integration through a 10-year blueprint, “Asean Community Vision 2025.”

The Asean community promises ease of travel in the region and freer movement of skilled professionals under the Mutual Recognition Arrangements within the Asean Community.

The Philippines has recently turned to Asean for support in resolving its dispute with China in the South China Sea.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said Asean had a number of agreements for promoting regional peace, cooperation and solidarity.

These include the 1971 Declaration on the Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality; the 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, and the 2004 Protocol for Enhanced Dispute Settlement Mechanism for resolving economic-related disputes.