• 35th NEAT CCM

2016 NEAT Memorandum No. 13

Network of East Asian Think-tanks (NEAT)
Memorandum No. 13
 
 
I. Introduction
 
The Network of East Asia Think Tanks (NEAT) held its 25th NEAT Country Coordinators Meeting (CCM) and the 14th NEAT Annual Conference (AC) in Bangkok, Thailand on 28th - 29th July 2016. Participants were 43 representatives from ASEAN Plus Three (APT) countries.
 
NEAT reaffirms that the goal of community building in East Asia is to promote the welfare and well-being of its people by realising the East Asian Vision of Peace, Prosperity, and Progress. To promote peace and prosperity in the region, the East Asia community building process is to base on universal values, including good governance, the rule of law, democracy, human rights, and international laws and norms. Member countries should commit to further intensify and expand these values, laws and norms in all areas of cooperation, including cross-cutting issues such as connectivity and narrowing the development divide. In addition, the process must address emerging challenges in the areas of traditional and non-traditional security to ensure regional stability.
 
II. NEAT Activities in 2016
 
2016, NEAT organized two Country Coordinators Meetings (CCM), one Annual Conference, and four Working Groups (WG) on East Asia Economic Community (NEAT China), Regional Health (NEAT Japan), Institutional Sustainability (NEAT Korea) and Irregular Migration (NEAT Thailand). The detail appears in Annex. NEAT wishes to acknowledge and thank the respective NEAT member committees, supporters and participants for their highly valued efforts and contributions.
 
III. Recommendations
 
 Based on the 24th and 25th NEAT CCM and working groups activities in 2016, NEAT respectfully submits recommendation for the APT leaders’ consideration in three areas:
 
1. Crisis Management in ASEAN Plus Three Countries
 
Enhanced cooperation and interaction among APT countries significantly fosters political, economic, and social development in each individual country and the region as a whole. Nevertheless, new challenges, such as natural disaster, migration and human rights, and epidemic have emerged. They have a potential to evolve into crises. To address these issues, NEAT has identified two existing challenges, i.e. irregular migration and issues relating to public health.
 
a. Irregular Migration
 
Although the issue of irregular migration is not new to APT, member countries have not recognized it as a potential source of crisis. Irregular maritime movements and loss of life at sea have significantly increased. These worsen people-smuggling and human-trafficking, refugee and statelessness, and forced labor and human right situations. In addition, it intensifies issues of international crime in the region. Unless irregular migration is properly and collectively managed, it will have permanent negative impacts on political, economic, and social development of each member country and the region as a whole. To address these issues, NEAT would like to propose the following recommendations:
 
i. To adopt comprehensive and appropriate legal frameworks which combine preventive, protective, and prosecutorial measures in tackling issues of irregular migration.
ii. To actively and seriously engage in discussions on migration at regional forums, including ASEAN, ASEAN Region Forum, the East Asia Summit, in addition to the Bali Process.
iii. To develop a comprehensive regional data center of migrant workers who work in APT countries.
iv. To enhance regional collaboration among APT countries regarding migrants in general. This can be done through the APT Migration Network where the participation of government officials, academics and migrants themselves becomes crucial to help tackle migrant-related problems.
v. To establish workable APT migrant welfare measures in order to guarantee the social and human security of migrant workers.
 
b. Enhancement of Public Health and Unviersal Health Coverage
 
Due to rapid economic development and increasing people mobility, diffusion of new types of communicable and non-communicable diseases have emerged as one of the serious issues in East Asia. This has led to drastic changes in regional disease structures and epidemic vulnerability taking place in line with global trends. Therefore, it is necessary for APT countries to jointly promote comprehensive management and cooperation in the enhancement of public health in the region. The recommendations are as follows:
 
i. To strengthen health care systems and universal health coverage so as to reduce health care inequities and promote sustainable universal health coverage. It should be done for each component of health care system including financing, governance, and human resource development. 
ii. To jointly promote health care to prevent and detect both communicable and non-communicable diseases at early stages. 
iii. To establish a cooperation framework and cross-sectoral information sharing platform in the areas of public health and health system. 
iv. To promote the utilization of health data and improve its quality in collaboration with APT countries as well as other stakeholders, such as international organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations, and communities. This aims to develop and expand health database into “big data” in each country, and enhance data management and analysis capability. 
v. To strengthen health services research and establish specialists networks in East Asia.
vi. To develop human resources for public health towards evidence-based health policy.
 
2. The East Asia Economic Comunity (EAEC) Building
 
The most noteworthy opportunity for East Asia is the new round of global economic restructuring characterised by the transfer of manufacturing industries. In order to build an East Asian Economic Community (EAEC), it is vital to upgrade each member’s position in the regional production network. Additionally, it allows APT countries to better integrate themselves into the regional consumption loop for a more balanced, inclusive, and economically resilient region. To enhance the EAEC-building process, key principles in regional cooperation should be valued and adhered to, including ASEAN Centrality, APT as the main vehicle of regional development, and open regionalism. NEAT recommendations are as follows:
 
a. To developn an EAEC Blueprint by designating a High Level Task Force (HLTF) to specify the outcomes to be achieved by either 2020 or 2025 (or a two-phase arrangement).
b. To strenthen ASEAN Centrality: 
 
i. Improve its competence and capacity in regional trade agreement negotiations for deeper regional integration.
ii. Set a clear goal of higher level of commitments for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations while leaving enough flexibility to the least-developed members.
iii. China, Japan, and Korea should stand and work together to provide strong support for the realization of the ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN capacity-building, especially human resource development in ASEAN member states. The two most important areas shall be regional connectivity and narrowing of the development gap.
 
c. To better utilise the existing cooperation frameworks and mechanisms.
 
d. To conclude the Cina - Japan - Korea Free Trade Agreement  (CKFTA) and RCEP negotiations as soon as possible.
 
e. To Promote All-round Functional Cooperation:
 
i. Improve regional connectivity. Assistance from Japan, China and Korea, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asia infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as well as the Silk Road Fund, will provide necessary financial support for the execution of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC). The “Belt and Road Initiative” can facilitate and complement the MPAC.
ii. Promote the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement.
iii. Deepen regional financial cooperation. Further eliminate International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditionality for the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM) by further raise the de-linked portion to 40% or even higher.
iv. Narrow the development gap. Further investment and cooperation shall be promoted in poverty reduction, industrial capacity improvement and human resources development.
 
3. NEAT Sustainability and Institutionalisation
 
To support the APT towards the development of East Asian Community, NEAT needs to strengthen its function by enchaining institutional capacity to ensure sustainability of its organizational development and to contribute to the East Asian integration. The recommendations are:
 
a. To establish a NEAT secretariat by utilizing the potential cooperation funds and make modifications on NEAT operations.
 
b. To encourage NEAT members to co-host working group meetings based on agreements of interested countries.
 
c. To adopt a chairmanship rotation system of the member committees to safeguard stable participation, enhance legitimacy, and cover wider variety of regional issues.
d. To involve the APT Senior Official of the hosting country and representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat in the NEAT CCM and Annual Conference, so as to enhance institutional connectivity between Track I and Track II diplomacy.
e. To invite NEAT representative to important Track I and Track II regional forums, particularly the APT, ARF and East Asia Forum and to strengthen close communications with SOM+3, DG+3, and the APT unit at the ASEAN Secretariat.
 f. To fully utilize available funds from domestic, regional, and international sources, and to develop partnership with private sector actively.
 
The details of NEAT Activities in 2016 and recommendations from each NEAT working group are appears in Annex.
 
IV. Conclusion
 
NEAT greatly appreciates the serious consideration of the APT SOM, Ministers and Leaders to the recommendations in this Memorandum, and welcome opportunities to interact further with decision-makers on the contents. We pledge our continued support to build a vibrant and thriving East Asian community and, under the chairmanship of NEAT Korea, look forward to making greater contributions to the region as the APT marks its 20th anniversary in 2017.
 
ANNEX
 
I. NEAT WORKING GROUP ACTIVITIES IN 2016
 
In 2016, NEAT organised four Working Groups (WG. They are:
 
a. The first WG on “Migration”, sponsored by NEAT Thailand, that had the workshop on 10th June 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand.
b. The second WG is on “Enhancement of Regional Health in East Asia with Special Reference to the Public Health and Universal Health”, sponsored by NEAT Japan. The meeting was held in Tokyo, Japan on 5th - 6th July 2016.
c. The third WG on “The Road towards the East Asia Economic Community (EAEC) 2020”, sponsored by NEAT China. The workshop was organised in Beijing China, on 1st July 2016.
d. The fourth WG is on “Institutional Sustainability of NEAT: Towards the East Asian Community”. NEAT Korea, as the sponsor, conducted the meeting on 24th June 2016 in Seoul, Korea.
 
II. WORKING GROUPS RECOMMENDATIONS
 
a. Migration
 
Although the irregular migration covers various aspects, NEAT focuses on the immediate issues of labour migration and trafficking and forced migration. These issues need to be recognised and managed by the APT Leaders. The WG recommends that:
 
Labour Migration and Trafficing
 
i. To adopt comprehensive and appropriate legal frameworks which combine preventive, protective, and prosecutorial measures in tackling the issues of irregular migration.
ii. To actively and seriously engage in a discussion on migration at regional forums, such as ASEAN, using the Bali Process.
iii. To develop a comprehensive regional data center of migrant workers who have worked in APT countries.
iv. To enhance regional collaboration among APT countries regarding migrants. This can be done through the APT Migration Network where the participation of government officials, academics and migrants themselves becomes crucial to help tackle migrant-related problems.
v. For all AMS to ratify the ASEAN Anti-Trafficking Convention and making the national laws in line with regional and international standards.
vi. To establish workable APT migrant welfare measures in order to guarantee the social and human security of migrant workers.
vii. MOU regarding labor protection among ASEAN countries. Accelerating the process of drafting an ASEAN legally binding Instrument.
 
Forced Migration
 
i. Implement status determination if not by countries concerned, UNHCR should be enabled to do so in a timely manner;
ii. Closer cooperation between source countries and the countries of transit/destination to enable legal and voluntary take-backs of those that do not qualify for refugee status. Apart from bilateral government-to-government protocols, this should be accompanied by social development projects in source countries, possibly with ASEAN Plus Three assistance.
iii. Signatories of the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol must be encouraged to measure up to their international obligations in terms of resettlement and mutual assistance. For this purpose, ASEAN and other Asian countries should collectively draft a resolution in the United Nations and engage in diplomatic overtures with recipient countries.
iv. Countries which are facing labour shortage such as Brunei, Malaysia and Thailand can offer work rights to those that have acquired refugee status. Important to note that the offer of work rights, however, are not tantamount to naturalisation and more permanent solutions must be sought.
v. Putting in place a system of registration which would be clearly advantageous from a national security point of view. A regional data centre should be considered and exchange of information should be strengthened.
 
Mechanisms
 
i. Make full use of existing structures, such as forums like ASEAN and the Bali Process. Utilising existing frameworks will ensure that, generally, countries will be in a (much) better situation to broker more predictable and effective responses, and take preventative action.
ii. Setting up an overall mechanism to facilitate and improve maritime search and rescue in the region. The focus of addressing forced migration should, first and foremost, be on the humanitarian protection of refugees.
iii. A regional monitoring and protection mechanism on migration. This multilateral mechanism also has to respond to regional crisis and seek for regional solutions.
iv. Addressing issue of citizenship which is becoming a trans-border issue. Lack of citizenship is finally a time bomb for all societies and could be a threat to national security. Birth registration is one of the most important measures to prevent statelessness.
v. A Forum for Policy Dialogue between Track II and the ASEAN leaders in order to come up with concrete recommendations.
vi. Sharing good practices of law enforcement and legal support between APT.
 
b. Enhancement of Regional Health in East Asia with Special Reference to the Public Health and Universal Health Coverage
 
Based on the discussion in the three topics; 1) Trend on Public Health in the 21th Century, 2) Promotion of Public Health in the Age of Universal Health Coverage in East Asia, and 3) How to Further Enhance Regional Health in East Asia, it deems necessary for the APT Leaders to consider putting in place the following recommendations:
 
i. Strengthen health systems in East Asian countries to enhance regional health, reduce health inequities, and promote health and achieve/sustain universal health coverage. It should be done for each component of health system including financing, governance and human resource with appropriate transferability.
ii. Seek the possibility of financing public health facilities either from the viewpoint of social development program at national level, or from that of basic infrastructure development program at regional level.
iii. Jointly advocate for the need of policy and program support among health and non-health sectors to address social determinants of health that have strong impact on the regional health priorities.
iv. Jointly promote health among East Asian countries for preventing and detecting both communicable and non-communicable diseases at early stages, with equitable allocation of health resources, as well as to cope with the aging society, eventually, if possible, through establishment of a regional center or its equivalent under APT framework.
v. Establish a framework of cooperation and cross-sectoral information sharing among the East-Asian countries in the areas of public health and health system.
vi. Enhance utilization of health data in collaboration with East Asian countries as well as other stakeholders such as international organizations, NGOs and communities. To improve abilities of data collection, to improve quality of data, to develop and expand health database into 'big data' in each country, and to enhance capability of data management and analysis.
vii. Strengthen health services research networks among research institutions in East Asia, and build a network of health services research specialists, eventually, if possible, through establishment of a regional committee or its equivalent under APT framework.
viii. Develop human resources for public health and health services research towards evidence-based health policy.
 
c. The Road towards the East Asia Economic Community (EAEC) 2020
 
Apart from efforts on institutionalization of regional integration (such as the RCEP and the CJKFTA), East Asia should still give high priority to functional cooperation focusing on the following areas.
 
i. Improve regional connectivity. In this regard, the development assistance from the Plus Three countries, the ADB, the AIIB as well as the Silk Road Fund, will provide much needed financial support for the execution of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC). Especially, the “Belt and Road Initiative” shares striking similarities with the MPAC in envisaging transport connectivity as a way to bring participating countries closer to one another and to facilitate better access to trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges. Hence, the two can complement one another very well and produce effective and efficient cooperation in both hard and soft connectivity.
ii. Promote the ramification and implementation of the WTO’s TFA as soon as possible. As the first multilateral trade agreement adopted since the conclusion of Uruguay Round in 1994, the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) represents a landmark achievement for the WTO. According to World Trade Report 2015, full implementation of the TFA will reduce global trade costs by an average of 14.3 per cent and is expected to add around 2.7 per cent per year to world export growth and more than half a per cent per year to world GDP growth. Developing countries have the most to gain from swift and full implementation of the TFA, as both their exports and GDP growth will increase at higher rates than those of developed countries. Taking open regionalism as its doctrine, East Asia welcomes any achievement in the WTO. What’s more, trade facilitation provisions in the WTO and in the AEC and even the EAEC almost converge.
iii. Deepen regional financial cooperation. In order to make the CMIM a more effectively-functioning financial safety net within Asia’s regional financial architecture, it is quite necessary to further eliminate IMF conditionality by further raising the de-linked portion to 40% or even higher. In the area of regional development finance, more channels for financing development projects should be encouraged. At the same time, collaboration between the existing institutions such as the WB, the ADB, the AIIB as well as the BRICSDB, should also be encouraged to contribute to the region’s development projects, especially infrastructure and environmental projects. In the area of regional financial system stability, the AMRO, as a regional macroeconomic surveillance unit of the CMIM, urgently needs to be strengthened in interior governance structure and its regional supervision function.
iv. Narrow the development gap. Equitable economic development and the narrowing down of the development gap in East Asia are necessary for regional peace, stability, and the long-term goal of an East Asia community. In order to achieve a balanced growth, APT countries need to further cooperate in poverty reduction, industrial capacity improvement and human resources development in less-developed countries by sharing expertise and technical know-how and promoting investment in a responsible manner. In order to ensure the stability of the supply of food in the region, the EAVG II’s proposal on expanding the coverage of the APT Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) to include other staple food in times of emergency in the region should also be supported.
 
d. Institutional Sustainability of NEAT: Towards the East Asian Community
 
Against the backdrop of a series of profound and complex changes of regional and global environments, NEAT is at a crossroad as it has to cope with such a new situation. Fundamentally, NEAT should strengthen its function by enhancing institutional capacity to ensure the sustainability of both its organizational development and contributions to East Asian integration. Through the discussions of the working group on “Institutional Sustainability of NEAT: Towards the East Asian Community”, participants collected and suggested policy recommendations listed below.
 
i. Establish the NEAT secretariat. It is agreed that NEAT need to make some modifications on its operation mode to adapt itself to the evolving regional environment. In addition, participants strongly recommend the establishment of the NEAT secretariat that can serve as a coordinator covering communication, documentation, management of official NEAT website, and other related works.
ii. Second, improve the chairmanship system. For those member countries that could not host Working Group meetings, it is encouraged to employ the method of co-hosting at present stage upon agreement of the co-hosts. We already have some cases of successful co-hosting of working group meeting and research. The accumulation of experience and know-how will help NEAT’s adoption of new system of hosting WG meetings. In the long run, NEAT may consider shifting the chairmanship system of the meeting from voluntary bids to a rotational system of the whole member states to safeguard stable participation, to enhance legitimacy, and to cover wider variety of regional issues.
iii. Enhance institutional connectivity between Track I and Track II. NEAT proposes the regular attendance of a SOM member of hosting country as well as representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat to the Annual Conference. Feedback, advice, or guidance to the NEAT recommendations is expected to be delivered by participated Track I and ASEAN secretariat. In a similar vein, NEAT need to seek representation at important Track I and Track II regional forums, and strengthen close communications with those groups through regular meetings and discussions especially with SOM+3 or DG+3 and the APT unit at the ASEAN Secretariat. Only through institutionalized and close communications with Track I, policy recommendations will have higher possibility of implementation.
iv. Interact more with other APT Track II initiatives. NEAT is supposed to enhance its horizontal networking by encouraging and facilitating exchanges of personnel with all other parties related to the processes of APT Track II initiatives, in particular, East Asia Forum. NEAT suggests that NEAT chair to be regularly invited to EAF to share and discuss the ideas and knowledge they collected to contribute to the processes of East Asian community building.
v. Diversify funding sources. While continuing to safeguard financial support from their respective national governments, NEAT members are advised to fully utilize available funds from domestic, regional and international sources, and to develop partnership with private sector actively. For instance, APT Cooperation Fund is definitely an ideal source for joint research on strategic issues. In line with the decisions of the APT SOM in 2013, the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Fund can be considered for financing the NEAT secretariat, NEAT WGs and for the rotational hosting of NEAT CCMs and ACs too. The long-term goal may be to establish the “NEAT fund.”

2015 NEAT Memorandum No. 12

Network of East Asian Think-tanks (NEAT)
Memorandum No. 12
Bandung, 2015

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
 
I. Introduction
 
The Network of East Asian Think-Tanks (NEAT) held its 23rd Country Coordinator Meeting (CCM) and 13th Annual Conference (AC) in Bandung, Indonesia on 7-8 September 2015. Attending these two events were representatives of ASEAN Plus Three (APT) countries.
 
NEAT reaffirms that the goal of community building in East Asia is to promote the welfare and well-being of its people by realizing the East Asian Vision of Peace, Prosperity and Progress. In order to promote an East Asia that is peaceful, community building must be based on universal values, including good governance, the rule of law, democracy, human rights and international law and norms. East Asian countries should promote these values as common goals.
 
II. Recommendations
 
Based on its 2015 Working Groups, NEAT respectfully submits recommendation in the following four areas for the consideration of the APT leaders:
 
1. East Asian Cooperation on Poverty Reduction: Sustainabiilty, Integrity and Capability
 
East Asian regional cooperation on poverty reduction should be in line with Sustainable Development Goals. The APT countries should further institutionalize cooperation on poverty reduction, utilize multi-channel financing by integrating emerging sources, build development partnership and harmonize regional efforts in poverty reduction, and strengthen capability-building through education, training, and pilot projects. In this regard, NEAT recommends:
  • Establishing a Ministers Meeting,
  • Developing a post-2015 Action Plan,
  • Setting up a Task Force and encouraging village-level pilot projects for APT poverty reduction.
 
2. Towards Good Urban Planning: Sustainable Development and Better Quality of Life
 
Integrated urban planning and effective governance are essential to achieving a sustainable balance among various considerations such as economic growth, social progress and environmental protection that facilitates the building of liveable cities for residents. The task of building livable cities is getting urgent as Asia is expected to bear the brunt of more and accelerated population growth in its urban areas in the coming years. To achieve good urban planning, NEAT recommends:
  • Involving relevant stakeholders;
  • Showcasing best practices and enhancing capacity-building;
  • Exploring various financing models and leveragin on relevant international platforms.
3. Maritime Cooperation in East Asia
 
APT countries are currently faced with multiple challenges related to maritime security, including various transnational crimes. NEAT recommends:
  • Establishing a framework of cooperation and cross-sectoral information sharing center;
  • Fostering the development of human resources to promote maritime management in accordance with international law;
  • Holding an APT Oceans-related Ministerial Meeting and experts’ meetings; and,
  • Pursuing the conservation of maritime ecosystem and biodiversity and the effective usage of maritime resources in the region.
4. Towards Seamless Connectivity: Transforming Multi-modal Transport System into Economic Corridors
 
In achieving seamless connectivity within the ASEAN+3 region, NEAT recognized the importance of prioritizing and synergizing connectivity projects, intrinsic links between the various initiatives of ASEAN and the Plus Three countries, as well as the necessity of bridging the financial gap to meet the regional connectivity needs. NEAT recommends:
  • Exploring possibilities of establishing the ASEAN+3 countries as active members of the ACCC under MPAC;
  • Enhancing cooperation between multinational investment institutions such as ADB and AIIB;
  • Developing a stronger framework for public private partnership in addition to existing PPP infrastructure advisory facilities, as well as encouraging private sector to take lead in conducting connectivity-based feasibility studies; and,
  • Strengthening people-to-people linkage by improving border service facilities.
 
 
NEAT Memorandum No. 12
Bandung, 2015
I. Introduction
 
In 2015, NEAT organized four Working Groups (WG). The first is WG on East Asian Cooperation on Poverty Reduction: sustainability, integrity and capability, sponsored by NEAT China that had the workshop in Beijing China, on 10 July 2015. The second is WG on Towards Good Urban Planning: Sustainable Development and Better Quality of Life, sponsored by NEAT Singapore, with the workshop held in Singapore, on 21 July 2015. The third is WG on Maritime Cooperation in East Asia, sponsored by NEAT Japan, which conducted the workshop on 5 August 2015 in Tokyo, Japan. The last is WG on Towards Seamless Connectivity: Transforming Multi-modal Transport System into Economic Corridors, sponsored by NEAT Thailand, that had the workshop on 21 August 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand.
 
II. Recommendation
 
Based on the Working Groups’ reports, NEAT respectfully submits recommendation in the following four areas for the consideration of the APT leaders:
 
1. East Asian Cooperation on Poverty Reduction: Sustainabiilty, Integrity and Capability
 
In the context of the post-2015 Development Agenda, East Asian regional cooperation in poverty reduction shall not only eliminate absolute poverty, narrow development gap and promote economic growth, but also aim at Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to achieve comprehensive and balanced development, social justice, environmental protection and good governance.
 
In order to achieve these goals, regional cooperation on poverty reduction should be inclusive, recipient-oriented, and pragmatic. Inclusive means both absolute and relative poverty should be reduced. Inclusive also means more social or market participation in reducing absolute as well as relative poverty. Recipient-oriented means that cooperation programs should be customized to meet different conditions, development levels and models. Pragmatic means efforts should be made to produce tangible benefits out of poverty reduction projects to increase effectiveness and efficiency of cooperation.
 
 Based on the past experiences and new challenges, the following policy proposals are made to achieve the above-mentioned goals, which attach great importance to sustainability, integrity and capability-building in regional cooperation on poverty reduction.
 
a. Further institutionalize APT cooperation on poverty reduction.
  • Utilize existing mechanisms and consider establishing an APT Ministers Meeting on poverty reduction. An APT Ministers Meeting on poverty reduction should be established, which shall be held at least once a year as the major mechanism for policy coordination and decision-making in regional cooperation on poverty reduction. In order to give full play to the Meeting, supporting mechanisms should also be put in place as soon as possible.
  • Develop a post-2015 Action Plan for APT Poverty Reduction Cooperation. Being in line with the post-2015 Development Agenda and aiming at the SDGs in the region, the Plan should identify specific goals, strategic roadmap, priority areas, timetables and implementing measures regional cooperation on poverty reduction and sustainable development for the 2016-2030 period.
  • Set up an APT Task Force for poverty reduction. An APT Task Force should be set up at an early date to conduct joint study and to provide intellectual support for official cooperation. The Task Force composed of leading experts from APT countries shall carry out relevant research by phases according to the Action Plan and report to the Ministers Meeting.
b. Innovate financing models and integrate emering sources and actors 
  • Realize paradigm shift of development finance from official development assistance to multi-channel financing. Great importance shall be attached to private investment, domestic resources and emerging economies and their initiatives. Although official development assistance is still a main resource for financing poverty reduction and sustainable development, it is important to leverage and catalyze private flows and domestic resources.
  • Explore the feasibility of establishing an APT Development Fund. One option can be making good use of the APT Cooperation Fund. The Development Fund can be used for regional cooperation projects on poverty reduction and sustainable development.
  • Promote the coordination among relevant international institutions in regional infrastructure development, for instance, the Global Infrastructure Facility of the WB, the ADB and the AIIB.ng.
c. Build development partnership and integrate regional efforts in poverty reduction.
  • Build effective and interactive public-private cooperative partnership (PPP). Encourage extensive participation of public and private sectors, civil society, and non-governmental organizations in regional poverty reduction and development projects.
  • Nurture a win-win development culture between the donors and beneficiaries under multilateral governance frameworks.
  • Develop regional network among development and poverty reduction agencies with national focal points. Regional networking should be built and strengthened with a view to better coordinating and allocating resources and practices under various mechanisms.
  • Set up an APT Forum for Social Development and Poverty Reduction. The Forum should bring all parties concerned and convene annually to share experience and exchange views on further promoting poverty reduction and sustainable development.
  • Set up a database for ASEAN+3 poverty reduction, where regional countries can constantly update information, release policies and track the process of poverty reduction at national and regional levels. Updated information and accurate data is very important for planning and policy-making in poverty reduction.
d. Strengthen capability-building through education, training and pilot projects.
  • Further promote regional cooperation on education and training, especially vocational-education and skill-training, with an aim of increasing employment. Such training and education programs should be regularized, well planned and guaranteed by regional cooperation fund. Sustainable and inclusive development in the region cannot be achieved without the capability-building of the poor population.
  • Further promote higher education in sustainable development to build intellectual reserve for long-term regional cooperation and community building. The advanced economies in the region shall provide scholarships and degree programs concerning poverty reduction and sustainable development to less developed ones. The degree programs for poverty reduction and sustainable development should, among other, include course in entrepreneurship.
  • Carry out village-level pilot projects. Rural poverty reduction is a major challenge for most regional countries. At the 17th APT Summit in 2014, China promised to fund Village-level Demonstration Program for Cooperation on Poverty Reduction. Such programs have been proven effective in China’s domestic practice, which have improved the basic infrastructure of villages and hence equipped the villagers with basic capabilities and conditions for development. Village-level pilot or demonstration projects should be developed and supported by regional countries to lift a large number of our people out of absolute poverty, and prepare them for sustainable development. 
2. Towards Good Urban Planning: Sustainable Developmen and Better Quality of Life
 
The APT governments need to work closely together on urban planning to achieve a sustainable balance among various considerations such as economic growth, social progress and environmental protection that facilitates the building of liveable cities for residents. Together, they can develop greater synergies and mitigate shortcomings in the area of urban planning. The task of building liveable cities is getting urgent as Asia is expected to bear the brunt of more and accelerated population growth in its urban areas in the coming years. The following are key recommendations to promote APT cooperation on urban planning:
 
a. Demonstrate political will and commitment by adopting a whole-of-government approach along with long-term integrated design in the planning and development of a city.
b. Ensure sustainable urban planning outcomes by combining the pursuit of a robust urban economy with social and environmental considerations, and disaster resilience.
c. Promote an open and inclusive approach by involving relevant stakeholders to encourage joint ownership and pooling of resources.
d. Undertake pilot/joint projects or compile a collection of case studies to better share knowledge, expertise and experience on urban planning among the APT countries.
e. Enhance capacity building especially training of skilled manpower on urban planning.
f.  Explore alternate financing solutions such as Public-Private Partnerships (or PPP) or other financial institutions in urban planning apart from traditional sources of government funding.
g. Leverage on international or global platforms such as the World Cities Summit (held biennially in Singapore - next one to be held in July 2016) and the Habitat III Conference (by the United Nations to be held in Ecuador in October 2016) to explore and share practical lessons and ways forward for sustainable urban planning and development.
 
3. Maritime Cooperation in East Asia
 
a. To establish a framework of cooperation and cross-sectoral information sharing among the countries in the areas of maritime crime1, navigation safety, environment protection, disaster management and maritime development in East Asia.
b. To establishing an information sharing framework among the countries, to enhance human and institutional capacity building for relevant bodies in charge of maritime safety and security in order to combat maritime crimes.
c. To foster development of human resources on maritime management and maritime policy to address maritime issues in accordance with international law in each country of the region and facilitate cooperation among the countries for such efforts.
d. To seek the possibility of establishing a single point of contact in each country on maritime management in the region and pursue streamlined communication channels.
e. To jointly promote the development of the East Asia maritime cooperation, to explore the possibility of holding an APT Oceans-related Ministerial Meeting and holding a maritime experts’ meeting to strengthen maritime cooperation among East Asian countries. Also to promote research exchange among research institutes in East Asia.
f. To advance discussions on the governmental level towards the establishment of an integrated information sharing center on maritime cooperation in East Asia.
g. To pursue the conservation of maritime ecosystem and biodiversity and the effective usage of maritime resources in the region through methodologies, such as Area Capability Cycle.
 
___________________________
1 Major examples of maritime crimes are piracy, maritime terrorism, drug trafficking, human smuggling, maritime theft and fraud, illegal fishing and offences against the marine environment.
 
4. Towards Seamless Connectivity: Transforming Multi-modal Transport System into Economic Corridors
 
a. Reaffirm the importance of connectivity as a critical means for growth by Governments so as to enable them to re-prioritize connectivity projects, relative to other national projects.
b. Explore the possibility of collaboration between the ADB and the AIIB, given the magnitude of the funds needed for infrastructure investment. The role of multilateral investment institutions such as the ADB and the AIIB is extremely important in supporting the development of connectivity projects. Their involvement would help fill in the financial gaps that may exist in some of the countries involved. Efforts to strengthen and sustain regional sources of fund are important in funding infrastructure development in the region.
c. Propose the inclusion of Plus Three countries as active members, rather than observers, of the ACCC, as the establishment of the ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee (ACCC) under the MPAC, the Belt and Road initiative and the Partnership for Quality Infrastructure initiative are so closely interconnected with the MPAC. Asian countries are known to have enormous domestic savings and foreign exchange reserves. A mechanism should be established so that these resources could be properly utilized to finance the development of infrastructure needed to enhance connectivity. Setting up such mechanism would entail creating an Enabling Environment to accommodate private investment, in which cooperation agreements, legal and regulatory frameworks, investment planning, institutional arrangements and a functional domestic capital market need to be developed.
d. Pursue the development of a stronger framework for Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), in addition to the existing PPP Infrastructure Advisory Facility. In light of the fact that the private sector has resources that can be tapped into for connectivity projects, which are often considered public goods. One recommendation is to establish a formal regional platform to exchange PPP knowledge and experience, such as a knowledge-based Regional PPP Center of Excellence. Another suggestion is for countries with successful PPP experiences (including Japan) to share their expertise with other countries. Yet another suggestion is for all countries involved, to establish national-level units that would oversee PPP funding opportunities within the region and function in consultation with a Regional PPP Center of Excellence.
e. Encourage the private sector to take the lead in conducting connectivity-based feasibility studies and to submit a project proposal to the government, regardless of whether such proposal is being solicited, so that, in realizing the benefits of connectivity projects, they have a stronger incentive to form a partnership with the government. The East Asia Business Council should be tasked with a greater role of promoting awareness of possibilities of developing ASEAN infrastructure among private investors. In addition, governments should ensure that private-sector involvement in connectivity projects serves not only business interests but also the purpose of economic development.
f. Extend the evaluation of feasibility of infrastructure development projects beyond mobilization of resources. It should address the political dynamics within each country involved, realizing the complexity of policy-making processes at the national and the international levels.
g. Incorporate the enhancement of maritime infrastructure connection with the implementation of projects under the MPAC and the Belt and Road. As to improve overall transport system in order to save cost and time and make regional connectivity truly seamless.
h. Further develop and enhance border service facilities in terms of their accessibility, availability of basic amenities as well as efficiency, the last of which is reflected in the length of waiting time at the border. In order to strengthen people-to-people linkages.
i. Promote a more concerted effort in synergizing the Belt and Road Initiative and Partnership for Quality Infrastructure initiative together with existing connectivity plans in ASEAN, particularly the MPAC. The principle of ASEAN Centrality should apply in such efforts.
 
Rapporteur: NEAT Indonesia
 
Chair of the 23rd CCM
 
Dr. Evi Fitriani

Country Coordinator of NEAT Indonesia

2014 NEAT Memorandum No. 11

Network of East Asian Think-tanks (NEAT)
Memorandum No. 11
 
I. Introduction
 
The Network of East Asian Think-Tanks (NEAT) held its 21st Country Coordinators Meeting (CCM) and 12th Annual Conference (AC) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 29-30 September 2014. Attending these two events were the representatives of ASEAN Plus Three (APT) countries.
NEAT reaffirms that the goal of community building in East Asia is to promote the welfare and well-being of its people by realising the East Asian Vision of Peace, Prosperity and Progress. In order to promote an East Asia that is peaceful, community building must be based on universal values, including good governance, the rule of law, democracy, human rights and international lawand norms. East Asian countries should promote these values as common goals.
 
II. Recommendations
 
NEAT respectfully submits recommendations in the following four areas under its Working Groups for the consideration of the ASEAN Plus Three Summit (APT):
 
A. Accelerating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Process through Strengthening the APT Cooperation
 
East Asia is in urgent need of a region-wide trade agreement. The RCEP initiated by ASEAN has great potential to meet this need and hence shall be accelerated. The success of the RCEP will help the region build a highly liberalised and larger common market, upgrade regional production network for greater competitiveness, enhance connectivity and narrow developmentgap.
 
1. Substantiate ASEAN centrality: As ASEAN centrality is key to the progress of the RCEP negotiations, ASEAN shall remain in the driving seat in carrying out the RCEP blueprint.  
 
  • ASEAN should be committed to the set goals for the RCEP negotiations while allowing enough flexibility for the least-developed ASEAN Member States (AMSs).
  • The Plus Three countries should provide strong support for the proposals put forward by ASEAN based on the RCEP Guiding Principles.The Plus Three countries need to contribute to the realisation of the AEC and capacity building with technical cooperation in the leastdeveloped AMSs. The proposal for establishing an Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank should be encouraged to offer financial support for infrastructure connectivity in the region.
 
2. Advance parallel FTA negotiations: Efforts should be made to conclude effective trade agreements in the region, such as the China-Japan-ROK FTA and the China-ROK FTA, which will help accelerate the RCEP process. The RCEP and the TPP should complement each other. Developing countries that cannot yet reach the high threshold of the TPP membership may achieve economic development first under the RCEP.
 
3. Take an innovative approach: To accommodate the needs of member countries with different levels of development, the RCEP negotiations should be conducted in a sequential approach with flexible membership and an explicit schedule.  
 
  • With ASEAN centrality in place, an“RCEP minus X” approach should be adopted in the negotiations. Proposals put forward by ASEAN shall go to effect to those parties who have adopted them. The noncommitted parties will enjoy the benefits when they are ready to adoptand implement them. Thus, some of the RCEP goals can be achievedfirst among the committed parties.
  • Parties are encouraged to follow the ASEAN-proposed schedule and sequential steps to conclude the negotiations. 
 
4. Introduce “Pilot Programs”: “Pilot Programs” shall be introduced in areas where consensus can be reached more easily so that committed parties can enjoy benefits as soon as possible and facilitate the follow-ups.
 
Trade facilitation can be a priority area for “Pilot Programs,” including harmonization of ROOs, facilitation of customs procedures, and FTA utilization. In service trade liberalization, “Pilot Programs” can be carried out first in tourism. Pilot Programs” can also be introduced into economic and technical cooperation on finance, E-commerce, infrastructure connectivity, regional value chains, capacity building, new energy and green industry, etc.
 
B. Enhancing People to People Connectivity - Education, Tourism and Cultural Exchange
 
NEAT believes that education, tourism and culture exchange are very important elements for the formation of the APT Community. They will further promote coexistence in a multicultural society, sustainable development, and social resilience, focusing on the important role of individual persons.
 
  1. Establish a forum or a platform with multilayered structure and various learning styles; while strengthening education network scheme like ASEAN University Network (AUN) and ASEAN International Mobility for Students (AIMS) program.
  2. Enhance existing regional meeting in order to make an inter-regional academic networking beyond APT framework with some key activities such as promoting teachers, staffs and researchers’ mobility.
  3. Establish a forum or a platform where Asian academic standards beyond borders can be discussed embracing cultural diversity and tradition of harmony in East Asia such as the project of ASEAN Research Cluster through internet by Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation-Regional Centre for Higher Education and Development (SEAMEORIHED).
  4. Formulate a regional language cooperation system in ASEAN +3 framework recognizing the efficacy and efficiency of English as a communication tool for Asian regional cooperation.
  5. Take a transnational approach to choose topics of a “learning commons” to be shared beyond national boundaries. It is important to consider significance of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as a key concept to be discussed.
  6. Look for concrete ways of solving the common issues in Asia. In particular, it is important for us to use technology to respond to social challenges while considering Asia’s cultural diversity.
  7. Encourage sustainable and responsible tourism such as eco-tourism, volunteer tourism and green tourism.
  8. Promote APT cooperation to preserve intangible cultural assets and heritage.
  9. NEAT respectfully submits recommendations in the following three areas for the consideration of the APT:
 
C. The Governance of Extractive Industries in East Asia
 
There is a need for APT countries to make sure that the management of the extraction of natural resources is conducted in a sustainable manner. Without good governance in extractive industries in APT countries, the future of economic growth in the region is severely threatened. The management of extractive industries in the region has to balance the need for today’s development and the need of future generations. Actions need to be taken at national and regional levels for establishing good governance in extractive industries in the region. Below are key recommendations to promote cooperation on extractive industries among the APT Countries:
 
  1. Create more opportunities and initiate efforts at regional level to facilitate exchanges of information, capacities, technology, experiences and resources in order to develop better governance in extractive industries.
  2. Take into consideration the work of other successful countries and international bodies by tapping the knowledge, experiences, and best practices in the area of extractive industries.
  3. Develop more consolidated information based on the governance and on the situation of the extractive industries in APT countries.
  4. Facilitate more quality and balanced investments that take into account social and environmental considerations.
  5. Implement more corporate social responsibility projects. It is important to promote CSR projects on a regular basis that can help the development of local communities.
  6. Consider the international standard of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and incorporate it to their domestic governance on extractive industries.
  7. Promote a new perspective in natural resource management to the multinational companies operated in the region. It should cover the enormous challenges in natural resource extraction both in national and regional level.
  8. Enhance the oversight and monitoring activity about the financial disclosure of the company and considering enforcement as criterion to evaluate the efficiency of the company.
  9. Promote more bilateral and multilateral cooperation among APT countries on the governance of extractive industries.
  10. Support legal reforms on the governance of extractive industries in APT countries.
  11. Develop a regional framework for cooperation in the governance of extractive industries to ensure the optimum result of abovementioned initiatives.
 
D. Urbanization; Challenges and Opportunities for Regional Collaboration
 
The governments of the APT countries play an important role in managing the urbanization process to deliver improved standards of living to their people. The APT countries underscore the importance of having good urban governance and planning to bring about cities that are socially diverse, culturally vibrant and environmentally livable, an outcome which population around the world increasingly aspire to. Below are the key recommendations to promote APT cooperation on urbanization.
 
  1. Develop a strong urban economy in the APT countries to provide employment and a viable taxation/revenue base. Having a dynamic economy and sound public finance will make it possible for social and environmental programs to enhance the quality of life in a city.
  2. Enhance the Plus Three countries collaboration on the ASEAN Initiative on Environmentally Sustainable Cities (AIESC) to promote sharing of experiences, best practices and implementation of initiatives/programs. Enhance the Plus Three countries collaboration on the support and implementation of the AIESC’s Key Indicators for Clean Air, Clean Land and Clean Water.
  3. Create an APT Urban Forum to share knowledge and experience on urbanization challenges, policies and best practices.
  4. Work closely with international organizations such as ADB, UN-ESCAP and UN-Habitat to initiate and implement national and local urbanization initiatives/programs. In addition, APT countries could refer to the UNHabitat’s Urban Indicator Program and Best Practices Program to improve their own urbanization process.
  5. Empower and train local government officials to play a bigger role in urbanization processes/programs.
  6. Adopt an open and inclusive approach to engage and involve relevant stakeholders to facilitate the urbanization process.
  7. Publicize best practices and successful examples of urbanization in the APT countries.
  8. Seek funding from financial institutions such as the ADB and other sources to meet the infrastructure needs of the APT countries.
  9. Promote social programs and policies to deal with slums and urban poverty.

2013 NEAT Memorandum No. 10

Network of East Asian Think-tanks (NEAT)
Memorandum No. 10
 
Introduction
 
1. The Network of East Asian Think-Tanks (NEAT) held its 19th Country Coordinators Meeting (CCM) and 11th Annual Conference (AC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 26-27 August 2013. Attending these two events were the representatives of all 13 ASEAN Plus Three (APT) countries.
2. Following the decision taken at the APT Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) on 18 May 2013 to form a closer linkage with the NEAT, Track I officials participated and interacted with Track II. NEAT is highly appreciative of the APT SOM decision and the attendance of members of the APT SOM and the ASEAN Plus Three Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO).
 
Moving East Asia Forward: Vision, Goals & Challenges
 
3. NEAT reaffirms that the goal of community building in East Asia is to promote the welfare and well-being of its peoples by realising the East Asian Vision of Peace, Prosperity and Progress.
 
3.1 In order to promote an East Asia that is peaceful, community building must be based on universal values, including good governance, the rule of law, democracy, human rights and international law and norms. East Asian countries should promote these values as common goals.
3.2 In order to promote an East Asia that is prosperous, community building must be based on development that is not just impactful but also inclusive, socially just and sustainable.
3.3 In order to promote an East Asia that is progressive, community building must be open to the world at large, pragmatic, future-oriented, rational and scientifically and technologically based.
 
4. Importantly, the inter-relationships among the factors promoting peace, prosperity and progress must be recognised – one cannot be attained, nor can it be pursued, at the expense of the others. All three are needed to impart a strong sense of well-being, security and confidence to the region.
 
5. The realisation of this vision for East Asia faces opportunities as well as challenges, both internally and externally.
 
5.1 East Asia is characterized by diversity. Differences in size, resource endowment, human capability, levels of economic development and standard of living can bring about opportunities as well as challenges. So do other factors, such as forces of globalization. It is important to manage these factors well while respecting diversity so as to make them better serve regional community building.
5.2 East Asia must thus build engaging, creative and dynamic diplomatic, economic and social institutions that can facilitate the process of moving the region forward. These rely heavily on political and economic initiatives but should be broadened to the intellectual and social as well.
 
6. NEAT discussed these and other opportunities and challenges facing East Asia at its CCM and AC The following are the main findings:
 
6.1 The importance of coordination between NEAT and APT SOM is to be stressed. The participation of Track I officials in the 11th Annual Conference has proved to be a success and a good start, and should be continued in future Annual Conferences.
6.2 The NEAT Chair should be invited to APT SOM meetings in the future as an observer.
6.3 Given the complex political and economic realities in East Asia, the promotion of rule-making, along with common values and norms, is important in ensuring that the region continues to be stable and secure.
6.4 NEAT should rise to the challenge of broadening its research activities beyond functional cooperation to include political and security matters. This should be done in a constructive manner.
6.5 In the financial arena, NEAT noted the good progress in the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) and the key role that the AMRO played in ensuring confidence in the East Asia region.
6.6 While APT countries must continue to assume the primary responsibility for their stability by adopting prudent macroeconomic policies, there is broad agreement that both the CMIM and AMRO needs to be developed and strengthened further.
6.7 The pursuit of sustained dialogue is the best way to ensure peace in the region. East Asia should review and further streamline its regional institutions in order to form a more cohesive regional identity beyond functional cooperation.
6.8 The broadening and deepening of East Asian integration requires bridging development gaps, improving soft and hard infrastructure and supporting existing institutions towards more inclusive growth. In this regard, the developing countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam should be given emphasis.
 
7. NEAT respectfully submits recommendations in the following three areas for the consideration of the APT:
 
Connectivity Cooperation in East Asia: Financing Infrastructure Connectivity in East Asia: Problems and Solutions
 
8. Regional connectivity has a strategic role in furthering and enhancing trade and investment, narrowing development gaps and facilitating people-to-people contacts. It is widely anticipated that infrastructure investment can be a new driver for growth but the limited sources of infrastructure financing are a matter of concern.
 
9. The following are key recommendations to mobilize private investment and turn the region’s savings into infrastructure investment in an efficient manner:
 
9.1 Establish the East Asian Infrastructure Partnership Forum (EAIPF). The EAIPF would be a major coordinating mechanism among APT countries to carry out exchange and cooperation on infrastructure planning, align national infrastructure development plans with the region’s connectivity targets, lay down a strategic master plan on East Asian infrastructure development and investment, and coordinate and oversee the implementation of the Plan. Study Groups under the EAIPF can be established to consolidate the concept and make feasible recommendations to push forward APT Partnership on Connectivity.
9.2 Upgrade the existing financing cooperation mechanism from the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund (AIF) to the East Asia Infrastructure Fund (EAIF). Such expansion can be developed together with Plus Three countries in terms of contribution, membership in Board of Directors, project selection criteria and project operation and administration.
9.3 Conduct a feasibility study for a new financial institution specialized in infrastructure investment in the APT region to add capacity to the existing regional financial institutions. The initial conception will involve a two-tier equity structure allowing the separation of the decision-making right from the return right. The mode of investment will mainly include loans and guarantees.
9.4 Facilitate financing through full use of the Asian bond market by:
 
Enhancing People-to-People Connectivity - Education, Tourism and Cultural Exchange
 
10. NEAT believes that education, tourism and cultural exchanges are very important elements for the formation of the ASEAN community as they are strongly related with the people’s mobility and connectivity. As such, the following are key recommendations for enhancing people-to-people connectivity:
 
Social Welfare Policies in East Asia: Sharing Experiences for a New Ground of Regional Cooperation
 
11. Social welfare is an important element of inclusive growth which will contribute to a more sustainable future of the development of APT Countries. With the growing interconnectedness created by globalization, social welfare policies should be a new area for regional cooperation in order to build a stronger foundation for an East Asian Community.
 
12. Below are key recommendations to promote cooperation on social welfare policies among the APT Countries:

2012 NEAT Memorandum No. 9

Memorandum No. 9
Network of East Asian Think-tanks (NEAT)
Policy Recommendations
 
 
Introduction
 
1. The Network of East Asian Think-tanks (NEAT) held its 17th Country Coordinators Meeting (CCM) and 10th Annual Conference (AC) in Beijing, China, on 27-28 August 2012. Attending these two events are representatives of think-tanks from the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) countries.
2.  The theme of the 10th NEAT AC is “deepening cooperation through building trust.” NEAT reaffirms its role in deepening APT cooperation by facilitating communications, promoting better understanding, nurturing cooperative culture, and building friendship, trust and confidence among the peoples in the region.
3.  The NEAT reaffirms that the goal of community building in East Asia should be to promote welfare and well-being of the people and realize the East Asian Vision of Peace, Prosperity and Progress. Community building should be based on universal values, including good governance, the rule of law, democracy, human rights, and international law and norms. East Asia countries should promote these values as common goals.
 
Recommendations
 
4.  NEAT respectfully submits recommendations in the following four areas for the consideration of the APT Summit:
  • NEAT: the Next Ten Years
  • Disaster Management
  • Inclusive Growth
  • East Asian Cultural Archive
A.NEAT: The Next Ten Years
 
5.  NEAT has been a success story in its first decade since 2003. In the next ten years, NEAT should develop strategic thinking on its own development, and build on its good practices to play a greater role in East Asian community building.
 
6.  The following are key recommendations for future direction and development of NEAT:
 
  1. Fulfill its role as an active builder of an East Asian community of peace, progress and prosperity, policy entrepreneur for APT development, and bridge between government, academia and society through networking. 
  2. Stick to the ASEAN Way of consensus, cherish comfort level of its members, and be forward-looking and innovative. 
  3. Be as realistic as possible. Rather than planning for things beyond its strength and resources, NEAT should focus on what it will be able to do in the future to become an increasingly relevant player in policy-making of regional cooperation. 
  4. Develop compatible strategies and agenda with those proposed in EAVGII report. 
  5. Strengthen NEAT Working Group mechanism. NEAT can organize working groups on strategic, political and security issues to explore possible areas for political and security cooperation. NEAT members should be encouraged to continue sponsoring working groups on specific issues in priority areas for APT cooperation. To further improve quality and policy relevance of working group reports, emphasis should be put on pre-meeting and follow-up study. 
  6. Enhance and expand NEAT networking. NEAT should encourage full participation of all members, promote regular scholar exchanges among its members, expand its network to emerging think-tanks in the region, and conduct dialogs and build connection with leading think-tanks outside the region. NEAT should also develop networking with general public, and increase its publicity by publications, by web, and by lectures and forums, etc.
  7. Strengthen NEAT linkage with Track I. NEAT should seek representation at important Track I and Track II regional forums, and be strengthened through meetings with Track I, especially in SOM+3 or DG+3, and also through regular discussions with the ASEAN+3 unit at the ASEAN Secretariat. Track I officials should be invited to participate in NEAT meetings and be informed of NEAT activities and working group reports.
  8. Seek institutionalization. In the long run, NEAT should be institutionalized with a permanent secretariat. At the current stage and in the next ten years, NEAT can explore possibilities of some kind of institutionalization, such as a half-way secretariat, depending on its capabilities and available resources. 
  9. Try to establish a NEAT fund. While continuing to seek financial support from their respective national governments, NEAT members should also try to utilize existing funds at domestic, regional and international levels, and develop partnership with private sector. NEAT should try to utilize APT cooperation fund to conduct joint research on strategic issues in East Asian community building. The long-term goal should be a NEAT fund. 
 
B. Disaster Management
 
7.  Asia, particularly East Asia, is an eminent disaster-prone area, and is continuing to suffer damage and losses due to super disasters, which occur at very low frequency but with great   impact. People’s survival, dignity, livelihood, and profits from local development have been gravely affected and are facing serious consequences. The lessons how to reconstruct resilient nation and communities against the super disasters should be shared among the member countries, and it is important to discuss how the regional cooperation can be promoted to build up resilient nations and communities against super disasters.
 
8. The following are key recommendations to promote disaster management in East Asia:
 
i. Transfer and develop appropriate technologies and knowledge to tackle super disasters through international technical cooperation such as the activities of Japan International Cooperation Agency. Information sharing and close coordination among the international organizations, national governments, and local communities should be also promoted in the region.
ii. Introduce the early warning systems in the region and improve its operation and accuracy. Mass media should be more involved in risk communication as efficient and effective risk message is essential for safe and prompt evacuation. Disaster education and awareness-raising are essential so that people can take prompt and appropriate actions for evacuation and protection of their lives after receiving the warnings.
iii. Promote community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM) activities.
  1. Broader stakeholders should be invited in CBDRM.
  2. Applicable and affordable techniques should be developed for CBDRM.
  3. Financial capability of the communities should be enhanced for disaster risk management.
  4. Socially cohesive and cooperative communities should be built up to address disasters.
  5. Communal property rights should be secured to encourage common investment in disaster risk management.
iv. National and local policies for disaster risk management should be developed, reflecting local conditions. Particularly, economic and social incentives should be developed to motivate the local communities to invest in disaster risk management.
v. Establish the focal point in every country for regional cooperation and coordination. Strengthen the network of the focal points through various activities such as the international workshops and seminars.
vi. Military forces are the asset for regional assistance in case of super disasters. The protocols to dispatch and accept the military forces should be established from the view point of humanitarian activities
 
C. Inclusive Growth
 
9. The strategy of inclusive growth, if well conceived and implemented, will contribute to a more harmonious society and ultimately enhance the legitimacy of APT governments. In this important endeavor, the APT governments can complement their national efforts to achieve inclusive growth by tapping on each other’s strengths and advantages. And regional cooperation will not only facilitate exchanges of information, capacities, technology and country experiences, but also spur actions to lay a stronger foundation for an East Asian Community.
10. Below are key recommendations to promote cooperation on inclusive growth among the APT countries:
 
i. Strengthen the macro-economic fundamentals in all APT countries so as to make inclusive growth more sustainable
ii. Deepen the economic, trade and investment linkages among the APT countries to take advantage of the opportunities of rapid growth in the region
iii. Improve labor mobility and capital flows, as well as technological transfers among the APT countries to facilitate the upgrading and restructuring of economies
iv. Promote further development of SMEs in the local economy
v. Enhance human resource capacity in the APT countries through measures such as better access to quality education and training to enable individuals to be gainfully employed and to upgrade themselves
vi. Improve institutional capabilities and coordination among government ministries and agencies related to inclusive growth in the APT countries
vii. Identify and implement regular programs and initiatives to help the vulnerable groups in the APT countries
viii. Publicize best practices and successful examples of inclusive growth in the APT countries
ix. Involve, recognize and encourage stakeholders such as organizations and individuals to contribute to broad-based participation in implementing the strategy of inclusive growth in the APT countries
x. Consider introducing an APT blueprint to support inclusive growth and development
 
D. East Asian Cultural Archives
 
11. Recognized the importance/necessity of establishing “East Asian Cultural Archives (EACA)” as a useful and effective way to enhance cultural exchange in East Asia and to expedite East Asian community (EAc) Building, the EACA set the goals in specific for inculcating cultural pride among people at not only national but also local levels, providing invaluable source of learning and education for students and educators, setting up useful database for research and reference, contributing to capacity building, training and networking for people directly involved in archival institutions at individual national level.

12. To implement EACA, some detailed ideas were suggested as follows:
 
i. Key players in the building EACA can include
 
a. relevant governmental bodies in individual countries
b. major private sector players in relevant fields
c. national think-tanks, research institutions and private cultural activists and performers
 
ii. Some possible forms and contents of EACA are particularly for
 
a. providing indexes of search engine service and the collection of individual archival institutions in the region
b. focusing on culture specific archives
 
iii. ‘Pilot Program or task force for EACA’ will decide the key issues such as
 
a. setting up a coordinating institution and appointing a focal point in each country
b. surveying existing similar archives to avoid duplication and building networks for their mutual communication
c. deciding the country that will host the website, if EACA is web-based cyber archive
d. designing concrete programs such as joint publication, regular seminar and forums, and training courses and so on.
 
 

2011 NEAT Memorandum No. 8

Policy Recommendations

 
Introduction
 
1. The Network of East Asia Think Tanks (NEAT) held its 15th Country Coordinators Meeting (CCM) and the 9th Annual Conference (AC) on August 11-12, 2011 in Da Nang City, Vietnam. Attending these two events are representatives of think-tanks from the ASEAN Plus Three countries.
 
2. The NEAT reaffirms that the goal of community building in East Asia should be to promote welfare and well-being of the people and realize the East Asian Vision of Peace, Prosperity and Progress. Community building should be based on universal values, including good governance, the rule of law, democracy, human rights, and international law and norms. East Asia countries should promote these values as common goals.
 
Recommendations
 
3. NEAT respectfully submits recommendations in the following three areas for the consideration of the ASEAN Plus Three Summit (APT):
 
  • Disaster Management
  • Enhancement of Cultural Exchange
  • Trade and Investment Facilitation and Connectivity
 
A.Disaster Management
 
4. As disasters have become one of the most serious threats affecting the ASEAN+3 countries, disaster management has become a key component of regional cooperation and East Asian community building. To achieve the most effective disaster management, each country should make commitments and promote institutionalization for disaster management at a multi-disciplinary basis. There is a need for more integrated and comprehensive approaches on disaster management at regional level.
 
5. The following are key recommendations to promote disaster management and cooperation on disaster management in East Asia:
 
i. Integrate and institutionalize cooperation frameworks, mechanisms and efforts. Improve and strengthen existing schemes on climate change and
disaster management and initiatives for regional cooperation such as ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER)
and bilateral international cooperation.
ii. Institutionalize coherent participation of multiple actors and explore possibilities for more integrated and comprehensive approaches to disaster management at regional level. Regional cooperation on disaster management/prevention should be closely linked with cooperation in other areas such as economy, technology, resource management, and environmental protection.
iii. Build up resilient communities against disasters by adopting community- based disaster management (CBDM). Implement a regional pilot project to build the capacity of local governments and communities in several pilot cities in the region through developing disaster scenarios and action plans through community-based disaster activities.
iv. Establish an APT expert group on disaster management. Promote joint research, training, emergency response exercises, technology transfer, and financial and technical assistance on disaster management.
v. Increase capacity for catastrophe-relief and management. An APT Catastrophe Research Centre can be set up.
vi. Set up APT emergency stockpiles of disaster relief items.
vii. Promote information sharing on disasters including early warning, the national usage of shared resources among neighborhood countries, disaster situation, need for help, etc.
viii. Strengthen and extend cooperation and coordination in search and rescue, disaster relief, and post-disaster reconstruction at regional level. Particularly, strengthen capacity for coordination between international assistance and domestic response activities in disaster-stricken areas.
 
B. Enhancement of Cultural Exchange
 
6. East Asia consists of diverse nations, thus, it is composed of a variety of different cultures and traditions. Cultural exchange is therefore crucial to an enhancement of mutual understanding, solidarity and prosperity of the region. “People-to-people exchange” can be an excellent means of promoting “regional identity and connectivity among East Asian people”.
 
7. The following are key recommendations to promote “people-to-people exchange” in East Asia:
 
Implement specific program, namely:
 
  • East Asia Culture and Knowledge Expo (EACKE). This program is to function as a regional collective hub for people-to-people exchange in the fields of culture, education and tourism by combining fairs and seminars on people-to people exchange in the following fields:
  • Culture Fair (e.g., cultural concerts and exhibitions);
  • Education Fair (e.g., cyber-lecture program, East Asian internship, student and faculty exchange);
  • Tourism Fair (e.g., public and private travel agencies);
  • Conferences and Seminars
 
C. Trade and Investment Facilitation (TIF) and Connectivity
 
8. Trade and investment facilitation (TIF) is the simplification, rationalization and harmonization of procedures and information flows associated with international trade and foreign direct investment. TIF often generates more trade and investment than trade and investment liberalization. Connectivity through hard and soft infrastructure is one of the effective ways of facilitating trade and investment in the region. The core objective of TIF and connectivity cooperation is to achieve the seamless movement of goods, services, investment, and labor in the most dynamic economic zone in the world, realize inclusive and sustainable growth, and bring common prosperity to all people in East Asia.
 
9. Key recommendations for TIF and connectivity are as follows:
 
i. Formulate an ASEAN+3 technical framework to simplify and rationalize TIF- related information flows, procedures, standards and practices; promote mutual recognition arrangements (MRAs) concerning qualifications, certification and accreditation; harmonize rules of origins (ROOs) and other regulations; enhance information and regulatory transparency; and step up capacity building.
ii. Improve cross-border transits on the simplification of customs procedures, adoption of common quarantine procedures (such as WTO’s sanitary and phytosanitary agreement) and enhancement of logistics services.
iii. Improve the overall investment climate by strengthening transparency of members’ investment rules (such as sharing their catalogues for investment guidance and lists of investment restrictions), and rationalizing investment approval procedures and requirements.
iv. Relax the restrictions on the entry and exit of businessmen by implementing mutual recognition of qualifications of skilled labor.
v. Speed up the process of forging an East Asia Free Trade Agreement to allow the expansion of trade and investment within the region.
vi. Focus on infrastructure connectivity in transport, information, communication and technology (ICT), and promote trade to support expanding regional supply chains and upgrade industrial division of labor in East Asia.
vii. Set up an “East Asia Cooperation Fund for Infrastructure Connectivity” to expand financing channels for regional infrastructure investment, including the mobilization of sovereign wealth funds in the region.
viii. Create a master plan for TIF and connectivity cooperation as an international agreement to coordinate the strategic planning of TIF and connectivity in the region, and establish a task force for TIF and connectivity cooperation to monitor and speed up the implementation of international agreements at national and regional levels.

Da Nang City, Vietnam
August 12, 2011

2008 NEAT Memorandum No. 5

Memorandum No. 5
The Network of East Asian Think-tanks (NEAT)
Policy Recommendation on
"Strengthening Cooperation and Consolidation towards Closer Integration"
 
Introduction
 
1. The Network of East Asian Think-Tanks (NEAT)held its 9th Country Coordinators’ Meeting (CCM) and the 6th Annual Conference (AC) from 24 – 25 August 2008 at Sanur Beach Hotel, Bali, Indonesia. The two events were attended by participants from the academia and government. 
 
2. The theme of the 6th AC was “Strengthening Cooperation and Consolidation towards Closer Integration”. It highlighted the efforts to strengthen cooperation and consolidation both among and within each NEAT member country. 
 
3. The NEAT reaffirms that the goal of community building in East Asia should be to promote the welfare and well-being of the people and realize the East Asian Vision of Peace, Prosperity and Progress. Community building should be based on universal values including good governance, the rule of law, democracy, human rights, and international law and norms. East Asian countries should promote these values as common goals.
 
Recommendation
 
4. NEAT submits recommendations from its working groups in the following five areas for the consideration of the ASEAN Plus Three Summit. 
  • East Asian Financial Cooperation
  • East Asian Investment Cooperation
  • Enhancement of Cultural Exchange in East Asia
  • East Asian Environmental Cooperation
  • Future Direction of NEAT
The recommendations are as follows:
 
A. East Asian Financial Cooperation
 
5. Improve the policy dialogue mechanism and establish an executive body for East Asian financial cooperation. Ajoint mechanism of finance ministers and central bank governors and an Executive Secretariat  should be established. The finance ministers and central bank governors shall jointly meet 2-4 times a year  to coordinate efforts and make key decisions concerning regional financial cooperation; the Executive Secretariat shall implement the joint decisions and monitor the implementation process.
 
6. This Executive Secretariat may have four departments, respectively (i) providing surveillance and advice of a member’s economic and monetary policies, (ii) managing pooled foreign exchange reserves for crisis lending, (iii) promoting financial—particularly bond—market development, and (iv) monitoring and evaluation of currencies and exchange rates. The Executive Secretariat will keep close contact with member governments’ ministries, agencies and central banks, and work closely with other existing cooperative mechanisms. 
 
7. Strengthen cooperation between financial authorities and private financial institutions, including stock exchanges, in East Asia. Ahigh-level “Asian Forum on Financial Stability” participated by finance ministries, central banks and financial sector regulators/supervisors should be established. Its major task is to conduct  financial-sector surveillance. This forum should work with private financial institutions as dialogue partners in order to come up with a set of regionally consistent regulatory and supervisory structures.
 
8. Enhance coordination of major economies, especially that between China and Japan, in East Asian financial cooperation. The promotion of East Asian financial cooperation shall be incorporated as an important part into the building of a Sino-Japan strategic partnership for mutual benefits. The Sino-Japanese High-level Economic and Financial Dialogue could strengthen coordination in financial surveillance and in macroeconomic policies. The two countries can also strengthen coordination in the management and operation of their respective foreign exchange reserves, launch a joint comprehensive study on an Asia Currency Unit or and Asia Currency Index, and strengthen coordination in the building of Asian bond markets and cooperation of East Asian financial authorities.
 
B. East Asian Investment Cooperation
 
9. Promote investment cooperation for East Asian infrastructure development. Expanded investment cooperation for East Asian infrastructure development including transportation, water, power, health and telecommunication facilities will benefit all member countries through higher economic growth and a meaningful regional integration.
 
10. Establish an East Asian Infrastructure Investment Fund. East Asian leaders should commit to an annual targeted sum to be invested for cross border infrastucture projects based on specified criteria. Funding for this project can be from public-private sector initiative, the private market and multilateral sources. Commitment from East Asian Governments can provide a more conducive regulatory environment that can facilitate and encourage investment.
 
11. Promote investment cooperation in energy and environmental protection.It was proposed that cooperation be strengthened in technology development, transfer and popularization, disaster prevention and alleviation, and investment in pollution control and clean energy development.
 
12.  Promote investment cooperation in agriculture, especially food production.Investment in agriculture, including development of agricultural products, technologies, and agricultural product processing industries should be increased. East Asian countries should jointly invest in agricultural technologies and transnational agricultural enterprises, encourage agriculture-related cross-border flow of capital, and enhance policy coordination and improve cooperation mechanism.
 
C. Enhancement of Cultural Exchange in East Asia
 
13.  Programs should be launched to promote or enhancethe mutual understanding of other cultures in the region. For example:
  1. the Asian song contest which comprisessinging contestsof local songs should be held annually and hosted by each ASEANPlus Three country. It should betelevised and broadcasted not only through traditional media but also through internet.
  2. TV drama, film, documentary and reality show programs, televised by the media of some countries and circulated within the region, co-produced by media programs in some countries, featuring the local-lives and diverse cultures of each country in the region. Programs and networks such as VDO clip contest, online social networking connecting local communities, productions for performing arts and exhibitions, inter-university broadcasting networks in the region should be organised.
  3. Set up a research network to conduct research on media development and media(ted) cultural exchange and cooperation;
  4. Open a social club or forum for ASEAN Plus Three journalists to meet regularly; and,form an organization of collaborative working groups that support activities of media(ted) cultural exchange.
 
D. East Asian Environmental Cooperation
 
14.  Various mitigation measures including quantitative national targets for renewable energies and reduction in carbon intensity should be introduced in the East Asian countries, with careful consideration for differences in the development stage of the member states.
 
15.  Notwithstanding the international community to halving the global GHG emission by 2050, relevant APT countries should examine cooperative sectoral approaches and sector specific activities, based upon the agreed principle under UNFCCC of Common and Differentiated Responsibilities.
 
16. APT countries should mainstream adaptation concerns into development planning through improving adaptation capacities and requiring all development policies to undergo strategic environmental assessment from the standpoint of adaptation. In this connection, it is crucial to develop capacity of local communities to cope with negative impacts of climate change.
 
17. Both mitigation and adaptation require significant investment in infrastructure development. For this reason, bilateral and multilateral assistance should be enhanced to facilitate such investment.
 
18. Cognizant of importance of indigenous knowledge and technology and R&D in mitigation and adaptation including disaster management, APT countries should install better policy environment to help desirable transfer of green technologies.
 
19. Both sustainable forest management and climate change mitigation through an active involvement in REDD scheme should be promoted. Further, serious commitment of the APT countries to afforestation and reforestation to increase carbon sink capacity is required. In this connection, domestic measures to combat illegal logging and timber trade must be given a top priority.
 
20. Financial and technical assistance to adaptation capacity development in terms of human resources, institutions and physical infrastructure must be one of the major targets of regional cooperation for enhanced ODA, for example, establishing a regional low carbon technology R&D fund, and creating venture capital funds for commercialized low carbon technologies maybe in place. Also, energy subsidies shall be reformed from the viewpoints of: (a) reflection of the social costs of energy including environmental impacts, (b) correction of the distortions of international competitiveness, and (c) fiscal reform to raise revenues for the climate measures.
 
E. Future Direction of NEAT
 
21. NEAT shouldcontinue to be a driving force in East Asian community building based on collective wisdoms and common interests.
 
22. NEAT should be strengthened and pursued with multiple channels, through meetings with Track I, especially in SOM+3 or DG+3, and also through regular discussions with the ASEAN+3 unit at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta.
 
23. NEAT should consider establishing a permanent secretariat, which could administer its activities and coordinate with NEAT members and other Think-Tanks. Settingup a task force focusing on policy solution should be also considered as a new mechanism of NEAT.
 
24. NEAT should hold academic dialogues and cooperation with other Think–Tanks withinand outside the region.
 
25. The APT governments should givethe necessary funding to NEAT and support the establishment of NEAT Fund. Additional funds from external resources, such as private sector and international institutions, should be also explored.
 

Bali, Indonesia, August 25, 2008

2010 NEAT Memorandum No. 7

Policy Recommendations
 
Introduction
 
1. The Network of East Asian Think Tanks (NEAT) held its 13th Country Coordinators Meeting (CCM) and the 8th Annual Conference (AC) on August 23-24, 2010 in Manila. The two events were attended by representatives of Think Tanks from the ASEAN Plus Three countries.
 
2. The NEAT reaffirms that the goal of community building in East Asia should be to promote the welfare and well-being of the people and realize the East Asian Vision of Peace, Prosperity and Progress. Community building should be based on universal values, including good governance, the rule of law,
democracy, human rights, and international law and norms. East Asian countries should promote these values as common goals.
 
Recommendations
 
3. NEAT respectfully submits recommendations in the following six areas for the serious consideration of the ASEAN Plus Three Summit.
  • Evolving Regional Architecture
  • Financial Cooperation
  • Trade and Investment Facilitation
  • Enhancement of Cultural Exchange through Education
  • Water Resource Management
  • Food Security
A. Evolving Regional Architecture
 
4. There is a distinguishable trend towards a multi-polar world with East Asia as the most dynamic economic region. The establishment of an East Asian community (EAc) will facilitate economic growth that is balanced, inclusive, and sustainable. ASEAN Plus Three process has become a major vehicle in moving
intraregional cooperation in East Asia forward. ASEAN Plus Three, therefore, remains relevant and important to East Asia’s evolving regional architecture and community building.
 
5. The following are key recommendations to promote the relevance of ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation in East Asia’s evolving regional architecture and roadmap towards an East Asian Community:
 
i. Reaffirm the long-term goal of building the EAc.
ii. The EAc should also be built upon the success of the ASEAN Community.
iii. East Asia community building should also reflect the multi-track and multi-speed approach to regional integration among countries in the region which results in a multi-layered and overlapping architecture.
iv. Existing fora/processes such as ASEAN, ASEAN+1, APT, EAS, ARF, APEC and ASEM should be strengthened and allowed to evolve since they each have their own merits and mandate.
v. ASEAN should be the core of this regional structure.
vi. The centrality and proactive role of the ASEAN as the primary driving force in this regional community building process of open regionalism should be maintained.
vii. Key features of the evolving regional architecture should be greater intra- regional trade and investment, enhanced financial cooperation, sustainable development, social and cultural exchange, and political and security cooperation.
viii. The East Asia Free Trade Area under the ASEAN Plus Three and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership of East Asia under the East Asia Summit should be considered in parallel as they can complement each other.
ix. East Asia should enhance political and security cooperation based on common values and shared interests.
x. East Asia should promote and advance political and security cooperation between ASEAN and its dialogue partners through the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus.
xi. East Asia should promote cooperation in the area of non-traditional security issues which has been undertaken under the framework the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime Plus Three.
 
B. Financial Cooperation
 
6. Economic recovery after the 2008 global financial crisis was supported by a strong economic rebound in East Asia. Whether East Asia can sustain its growth and maintain its financial stability largely depends on how well the countries in the region can address challenges such as the uncertain economic recovery in the US and Europe, relocation of excessive and volatile liquidity towards East Asia, growing capital losses of foreign exchange reserves in the region and the unsettled agenda of international financial system reform. In this context, NEAT calls for a deepening of East Asian financial cooperation in the
coming years.
 
7. The following are key recommendations to enhance East Asian financial cooperation:
 
i. Expand the functions of the to-be-established ASEAN Plus Three Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) over time so it becomes an effective surveillance unit to support economic review and policy dialogue (ERPD) in monitoring various economic and financial indicators, such as early warning system and Asian currency unit indexes, and producing regional economic surveillance reports, and eventually becomes an independent secretariat for the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM);
ii. Enhance the effectiveness and attractiveness of the CMIM by de-linking its loans with IMF conditionality over time, making the policy conditionality simple and focused, and introducing flexibility to CMIM lending to allow precautionary loans to a country which is not in a crisis but faces significant financial turmoil that could lead to a crisis;
iii. Take further steps to develop regional financial markets through the use of local currencies as alternatives to the US dollar for trade, investment and financial transactions in the region, including the issuance of local-currency denominated bonds by both public and private entities and increases in
weights of local currency assets in foreign exchange reserves in the region. To facilitate these efforts, set up a regional clearance and settlement mechanism for cross-border trading of local currency bonds, and launch an Asian Bond Fund 3 to enlarge corporate bond markets in the region with the
help of the newly established Credit Guarantee Investment Facility;
iv. Create an Asian Financial Stability Dialogue as a high-level device for regional financial sector reform, regulation and integration among the East Asian financial authorities;
v. Prepare for regional exchange rate policy coordination to tackle the imminent problems of large inflows of international short-term capital, and subsequently, an exchange rate appreciation pressure, foreign exchange reserve accumulation, inflation, and asset price increases, as well as to facilitate global imbalance adjustment; and
vi. Aim to establish an East Asian monetary fund as an independent, legally binding organization built on the principles and rules agreed by the members, in order to facilitate economic policy coordination and promote regional economic and financial stability.
 
C. Trade and Investment Facilitation
 
8. Trade and investment facilitation (TIF) is a significant aspect of economic cooperation in East Asia. TIF can help reduce regional trade inefficiency, remove market access barriers, expand intra-regional demand, and solidify the foundation for East Asian economic development. It is also an effective way for East Asian countries to better adapt to the new external economic and trade environment in the post-crisis era. Priority should be given to areas where it is easier to achieve tangible results.
 
9. The following are key recommendations to strengthen East Asian trade and investment facilitation (EATIF):
 
i. Rationalize and harmonize the Rules of Origin (ROO) principles of the three 10+1 FTAs, to make the ROO more transparent, bring down transaction and administrative costs, and minimize the “noodle bowl” effect;
ii. Simplify and harmonize customs procedures of countries in the region to make them more transparent, encourage free flow of goods within the region, and improve the efficiency and quality of trade data collection. Pay particular attention to the latter as a way of optimizing the trade database
and providing the business sector with more accurate, compatible, convenient and timely information service;
iii. Harmonize member countries’ domestic technical standards with international technical standards to allow the spread of best practice in technical regulation formulation and implementation, ensure transparency of standards and conformance measures, and facilitate the setting up of information sharing and consultation mechanisms to monitor and review the standards and conformance measures;
iv. Harmonize member countries’ rules and regulations on trade logistics in order to simplify the formalities for cross-border transport of goods; standardize transportation technologies; optimize infrastructure facilities; and raise speed and efficiency of regional trade logistics. At the same time,
promote regional connectivity in all modes by extending the ASEAN Connectivity Master Plan to reach out to the Plus Three countries;
v. Strengthen cooperation on visa application procedure and standardization for cross-border business movement;
vi. Introduce a quantitative assessment mechanism, including Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), regular reporting and independent assessment mechanisms. Define KPIs for each priority area in consultation with the successful practice of WB, APEC and GMS;
vii. Establish an EATIF Steering Committee, which will be responsible for translating the agreements of APT Summit and Ministers’ Meeting into specific action plans, facilitating communications and resources-sharing, monitoring and reviewing the cooperation process, updating the Economic
Ministers’ Meeting and Foreign Ministers’ Meeting with the latest developments, harmonizing individual countries’ efforts on TIF, and making policy recommendations; and
viii. Draft an EATIF Roadmap to be examined and finalized by the senior officials’ meeting and submitted to the APT Economic Ministers Meeting. At the national level, work out the individual countries’ TIF objectives and action plans accordingly, monitor and assess the implementation of action plans, and report the result to relevant APT ministers meetings.
 
D. Enhancement of Cultural Exchange through Education
 
10. East Asian countries have different cultures and traditions. Cultural exchange is therefore crucial to an enhancement of mutual understanding, solidarity and prosperity in the region. Cultural exchange through education is an excellent means of building an “East Asian identity”.
 
11. The following are key recommendations to promote cultural exchange through education:
 
i. Implement specific programs such as: (a) ASEAN Plus Three Student & Teacher Exchange Program (ASTEP), taking a cue from the Erasmus Program in Europe; (b) East Asian Education Council which will be tasked to manage overall education activities among East Asian countries; and (c) Asian Language Training Program (ALTP) with the view that language is the basic element of cultural understanding.
ii. Adopt specific measures such as the following: (a) Incorporate courses about East Asia in primary and secondary-level curricula; (b) Adopt Multicultural or Intercultural Literacy curriculum in order to achieve more effective cultural understanding; and (c) Encourage the forming of “research networks” in the area of education which will promote research on conditions and policies of cultural exchanges through education across East Asia.
 
E. Water Resource Management
 
12. Water-related challenges such as water shortages, flooding, contaminated water, poor sanitation and inaccessibility to safe drinking water affect in a varying degree, both developed and developing countries around the world. More and more countries recognize the importance of improving water resource management and are collaborating regionally and internationally to make it a reality.
 
13. The following are key recommendations to promote cooperation in water resource management among the APT countries:
 
i. Adopt a relevant set of water indicators and ensure consistent monitoring and reporting based on these indicators to help formulate better policies or programs;
ii. Devise a suitable and up-to-date regional database based on the relevant set of indicators in (i) to facilitate information and data sharing;
iii. Identify feasible water resource management projects at local levels in the APT countries (involving at least two APT countries and other interested partners) to be carried out over a reasonable time frame;
iv. Develop a long-term regional framework of water resource management encompassing and integrating all water sub-sectors;
v. Allow voluntary peer review of existing action plans in order to assess progress and identify problems;
vi. Publish information on best practices as well as challenges in implementing water resource management projects in the APT countries;
vii. Include in school curricula topics on environmental studies to enhance awareness among youths of the importance of water resource management;
viii. Look into climate change impact on water resources for appropriate adaptation measures;
ix. Adopt appropriate economic pricing policies to promote water conservation and more efficient allocation of this scare resource for different uses;
x. Involve relevant stakeholders beyond water professionals to ensure broad-based support for water resource management initiatives;
xi. Strengthen linkages and promote regular interactions among APT countries to better address water-related disaster risks management such as flooding and droughts;
xii. Build closer cooperation and coordination among the countries in the Mekong River Basin and other regional interested parties to better meet the challenges of water resource management; and
xiii. Establish a regional water fund to support water resource management activities and exchange of information, experience and knowledge as well as capacity building.
 
F. Food Security
 
14. The global food crisis in 2007 and 2008 is a stark reminder that food security is a top priority issue that has to be urgently addressed.
 
15. The following are key recommendations to ensure food security in East Asia:
 
i. Accelerate regional public investments in food sector in the infrastructure of the entire food supply chain including R&D to develop technologies to resist climatic change and environmental stress;
ii. Take stepwise approach towards the establishment of common regional food safety standards and/or regulations in order to improve national food safety first and integrate them with the regional/global system gradually. In the early stages of implementation, make such common regional standards, if needed, flexible and simple;
iii. Establish a clear mechanism in managing the regional rice reserves for emergency circumstances, and make it cost-effective and sustainable with stable financing arrangements among countries involved;
iv. Enhance a food security information system (AFSIS) to look at short-term and long-term food supply and demand situations and price fluctuations and projections;
v. Improve partnerships with private sectors to increase direct investments so as to create more job opportunities and thus contribute to economic development;
vi. Encourage exporting countries to harmonize themselves with international systems so that they can conform to the global standards and contribute to expanding international trade. While it takes some period to be able to follow them because of subsistent agricultural systems in the region, private food chain can play a critical role in introducing the standard through the setup of corporate standards or contract farming, in addition to public interventions;
vii. Integrate effectively efforts made by various organizations to tackle animal disease issue, which has become more and more critical as globalized economy prevailed in the region. In this connection, the region can learn a lot from Singaporean experiences as the quasi-perfect protecting system has been implemented there;
viii. Promote capacity building in the country where food safety has not yet been a prioritized policy target. Knowledge is not enough and infrastructure and technical facilities must be provided together to make the capacity building practical. The issue should be incorporated into the common umbrella of regional information exchange program. Specific areas of collaboration on this issue must be initially identified and studied by member countries.
 
Manila, Philippines
 
24 August 2010

2007 NEAT Memorandum No. 4

Policy Recommendations on East Asia Cooperation:
Towards Sustainable Development and Prosperity
 
Introduction
 
1. The Network of East Asian Think-Tanks (NEAT) held its 7th Country Coordinators Meeting (CCM) and 5th Annual Conference (AC) from 20 – 22 August 2007 at Meritus Mandarin Hotel, Singapore. The two events were attended by participants from the academia and government. This reflects continuing efforts by the NEAT to further strengthen the working relationship between Track 1 and Track 2.
 
2. The theme of the 5th AC was “East Asia Cooperation: Towards Sustainable Development and Prosperity". It highlights the urgent need to balance development with environmental concerns. Environmental protection can no longer be ignored or sacrificed for the sake of development and economic growth. The challenge is to strike the right balance to achieve sustainable growth and long term prosperity.
 
3. The discussions at the 7th CCM and 5th AC complement Track 1 efforts to strengthen cooperation among the APT countries and work together to address challenges affecting the region. At the Track 1 level, the APT leaders made a commitment to enhance energy security in the region at the second East Asia Summit in Cebu in January 2007.
 
4. We reaffirm that the goal of community building in East Asia should be to promote the welfare and well-being of the people and realise the East Asian Vision of Peace, Prosperity and Progress. Community building should be based on universal values including good governance, the rule of law, democracy, human rights, and international law and norms. East Asian countries should promote these values as common goals. We hope that these values would be reflected in the 2nd Joint Statement on East Asia Cooperation that may be issued at the APT Summit in Singapore in November 2007.
 
5. At the Track 2 level, the six Working Groups (WGs) in NEAT are focused on areas of common interest and concerns to the APT countries to foster cooperation and address common challenges. This document highlights the recommendations of the six WGs in the areas of:
  • Overall Architecture of Community Building in East Asia (Regional Architecture for Non-Traditional Security and Environmental Cooperation in East Asia);
  • East Asian Financial Cooperation;
  • East Asian Investment Cooperation;
  • Enhancement of Cultural Exchange in East Asia;
  • East Asian Cooperation Framework for Migration Labor; and
  • Energy Security Cooperation in East Asia
6. This set of Policy Recommendations was formulated, discussed and approved at the 7th CCM (CCM) with inputs from the 5th AC. The CCM would like to thank all participants for their time and effort in putting together this document. The detailed background and rationale of the six WGs can be found in the various reports.
 
Recommendations of the Six Working Groups
 
A.  Overall Architecture of Community Building in East Asia (Regional Architectures for Non-Traditional Security and Environmental Cooperation in East Asia)
 
7. Trans-national crimes. Legal harmonization among member countries is urgently required in order to standardize regional counter-measures to fight trans-national crimes. Existing differences among the APT countries concerning the definition of crimes should be resolved to facilitate effective multilateral cooperation.
 
8. The APT leaders should initiate specific programs in line with the ASEAN Plan of Action and the 2002 Kuala Lumpur Declaration. In particular, networks that include relevant NGOs and local community organizations for the purpose of providing support to victims of trans-national crimes should be established.
 
9. Environmental protection. The APT countries should establish mechanisms for regional environmental cooperation on the basis of existing ASEAN frameworks such as AMME/AMME+3, ASOEN, AMAF, ASOF, and ASOEN-HTTF. It is necessary to formulate common principles of environmental protection in the region to facilitate collective action and to develop specific projects for cooperation.
 
10. Efforts should be made to involve the local community in these cooperation schemes. Public awareness and education programs should also be developed. An APT Global Warming Task Force responsible for identifying, monitoring, and securitizing the threat of global warming in the region needs to be established.
 
11. Pandemic threats. To deal with threats such as Avian Influenza (AI), regional mechanisms for disease surveillance and control are needed. There is a need to enhance the monitoring capabilities of the APT countries. The APT countries should support, via the existing channel of APTEIDP, the strengthening of the capability of the ASEAN Secretariat.
 
12. Each country is expected to establish an AI Information Gathering Center to integrate data from related agencies at the national and local levels. Measures to reinforce border control of infected birds/chickens should be adopted by each country. Local communities should also be actively involved. The APT Center for Pandemics needs to be institutionalized to identify problems in the surveillance and crisis-management systems.
 
13. The ASEAN Secretariat should be strengthened to play a leading role in designing and coordinating specific programs of action in the above three areas.
 
B.  East Asian Financial Cooperation
 
14. Beyond Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI). The bilateral swap arrangements under CMI should be turned into standby credit under a multilateral framework and the total credit line should be increased. In the meantime, discussion should be held within the APT framework on the possibility of transforming the standby credit into an East Asian Reserve Cooperation Fund.
 
15. It is strongly suggested that efforts be made to strengthen the functions of CMI on information exchange, policy coordination and capital flow monitoring. It is desirable to expand the APT Finance Ministers' Meeting into a meeting comprising the Finance Ministers and central bank governors, and to set up working groups to study how capital flow monitoring and early warning on risks can be improved. The NEAT WG on Financial Cooperation will expand their scope of work to review monetary and financial policy and policy coordination among East Asian countries.
 
16. Asian bond market. An Asian bond market should be developed through capacity building which may include establishing a more effective steering body to guide domestic bond markets; strengthening the infrastructures of domestic bond markets; and, improving credit, taxation and legal environments to create favorable conditions for bond market development. Some of the major measures to promote integration of bonds market may include reducing barriers related to cross-border bond trading in this region; harmonizing legal and supervision issues related to bond market; and, encouraging cooperation among the various securities exchanges.
 
17. Interaction between government and private-sector cooperation. Financial cooperation should focus on promoting the integration of finance, investment and trade in this region. This requires the active involvement of government and private financial institutions. First, it is proposed that a Promotion Institution for East Asian Monetary and Financial Cooperation be set up. Second, governments and governmental mechanisms should facilitate private financial and monetary operation. Third, governments should mobilize private financial institutions and encourage their active participation in existing investment and trade cooperation.
 
18. Asian Currency Unit or Asian Currency Unit Index. Despite differing views on what constitutes an Asian currency unit, there is general agreement on the need for an in-depth study on the feasibility of an Asian Currency Unit Index to provide more insights and practical proposals on this topic. It is suggested that appropriate research and planning related to an Asian Currency Unit be carried out and a specialized body designated by the APT countries be responsible to lead this study.
 
C.  Investment Cooperation in East Asia
 
19. Investment cooperation. To create a more conducive environment for investment cooperation, it is proposed that FTA building be sped up and the investment element in FTA arrangements be strengthened. Greater importance should be attached to new models of East Asian investment cooperation.
 
20. Infrastructure development. Investment cooperation relating to regional transportation networks should be looked into. The possibility of getting more private sector investment by issuing Pan-Asia transportation network bonds should be explored. It is suggested that a special task force be set up to study cooperation on infrastructure investment and to come up with a comprehensive plan for the consideration of the APT leaders and Ministers next year.
 
21. Investment environment. To improve the environment for investment cooperation, there should be more transparent law-making and implementation processes, more investor-friendly institutional environment, more enhanced human resources development in service sectors and more effective cooperation on International Property Rights protection. Moreover, bilateral and regional investment rules should be established and incorporated in the FTA arrangements.
 
22. Green and sustainable investment projects. The APT governments should strongly support Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) related projects in the effort to tackle climate change. It is suggested that pilot projects related to green investment cooperation be set up. For a start, environment-friendly products can be developed by tapping the necessary capital, clean technologies, energy and resources from countries in the region. On this basis, comprehensive pilot projects can be explored. Moreover, there is an urgency to raise corporate awareness of their social responsibility of developing green projects.
 
23. Glocalization. Glocalization (combining globalization and localization) deserves special attention in the area of investment cooperation. Further studies related to international mergers and acquisitions and especially to develop better understanding of foreign cultures should be developed. Measures should also be taken against the negative effects thereof. Thinking globally and acting locally are both of critical importance in investment.
 
D.  Enhancement of Cultural Exchange in East Asia
 
24. Obstacles impeding cultural exchange. The obstacles impeding cultural exchange in the region include the lack of an understanding and appreciation of the significance of cultural diversity in the region and the importance of cultural exchange in promoting the East Asian community; the lack of political will, institutional arrangements, adequate funding, and collaborative and concerted efforts by both the public and private sectors to enhance cultural exchange; and, the low priority accorded to culture and to cultural exchange.
 
25. People-oriented cultural exchange. There is a need for a more participatory, people-oriented cultural exchange with balanced roles on the part of the state, market forces and private sectors.
 
26. Priority Areas. Efforts should be focused on priority areas to identify ways and means to foster cultural cooperation among the people of the region to build an East Asian community. Each of these priority areas will be looked into by the WG over the next five years:
  • Media (Year 2008)
  • Popular Culture and Cultural Festivities (Year 2009)
  • Education (Year 2010)
  • People-to-people Exchange (Year 2011)
  • Performing Arts and Cultural Exhibition (Year 2012)
27. On the topic of the “Media" in next year's discussion, the discussions will focus on, but not be limited to, the following sub-topics:
  • Mass Media and Broadcasting
  • Internet Media
  • Printing Media and Publication
  • Translation
East Asian Cooperation Framework for Migration Labor
 
28. Principles. A regional cooperation framework should uphold the following rights of migrant workers and family members residing with them: right to life; right to freedom from torture and inhumane treatment; right to freedom from forced labour, including debt bondage; right to freedom from indiscriminate incarceration and detention; and, right to freedom of movement.
 
29. Provisions. Source countries should provide migrant workers with information and training before they leave their countries. Host countries should provide them with counselling and advice centers during their service.
 
30. National laws and regulations of receiving countries should be harmonized wherever possible to ensure that there is consistency throughout the region.
 
31. The implementation of migrant worker policies should also be guided by international labor standards, in particular by ILO's Multilateral Framework on Labor Migration and its fundamental principles.
 
32.  Protection and Fair Treatment of Migrant Workers. Migrant workers should be protected by national employment legislation which, among other things, specifies normal hours worked, overtime payment rates, rest days, annual leave, medical entitlement and retrenchment benefits (if any).
 
33. Governments should address issues related to violations of migrant workers' rights and create effective and accessible channels for migrants to lodge their complaints and seek remedy without discrimination and intimidation.
 
34. Control and Management of Irregular Migration. Governments should ensure that there is close coordination among enforcement agencies, particularly immigration and police, and with labour/human resource ministries.
 
35. In the event of human trafficking, strong legal sanctions should apply to the traffickers and not the migrant workers who are their victims.
 
Energy Security Cooperation in East Asia
 
36. Energy Diversification. The need for energy diversification for APT countries is sufficiently clear, as most of the APT countries are heavily dependent on one or two dominant sources of energy supply. Energy diversification is therefore a key strategy for individual APT countries to enhance their overall energy security.
 
37. An appropriate energy mix can help individual APT countries cushion the impact of an unexpected supply-side shock. In the long run, it is also a viable strategy to cope with the day when oil production in the world peaks or recoverable oil reserves run out.
 
38. The APT countries should explore all possible avenues relating to energy cooperation, especially in the areas of energy conservation and diversification.
 
39. They should facilitate the sharing of information, technology and know-how on the use of both fossil and non-fossil fuel. In particular, more advanced APT countries should consider sharing energy-saving technology with others.
 
40. There is growing and urgent need to explore viable alternatives, particularly renewable sources of energy such as safe nuclear energy, clean coal, solar energy and biofuels. The APT countries should also consider undertaking research in appropriate technology for renewable sources of energy.
 
41. The APT countries should hasten the development of the Trans ASEAN Gas Pipeline (TAGP) as an alternative energy source and reduce the heavy reliance on oil in the transportation sector.
 
42. They should remove impediments to cross-border investments for energy diversification projects and devise a conducive set of policies and incentives to achieve a more viable energy mix.
 
43. The ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) should explore expanding its scope of activities to cover all APT countries. In particular, the centre should pay more attention and channel more resources to energy conservation and diversification efforts.

2009 NEAT Memorandum No. 6

Policy Recommendation
 
Introduction
 
1. The Network of East Asian Think Tanks (NEAT) held its 11th Country Coordinators Meeting (CCM) and the 7th Annual Conference (AC) from 30 August to 1 September 2009 at Grand Hyatt Hotel, Seoul, Korea. The two events were attended by representatives of Think Tanks.
 
2. The NEAT reaffirms that the goal of community building in East Asia should be to promote the welfare and well-being of the people and realize the East Asian Vision of Peace, Prosperity and Progress. Community building should be based on universal values including good governance, the rule of law, democracy, human rights, and international law and norms. East Asian countries should promote these values as common goals.
 
Recommendations
 
3. NEAT submits recommendations in the following five areas for the consideration of the ASEAN Plus Three Summit.
  • East Asian Financial Cooperation
  • East Asian Investment Cooperation
  • Enhancement of Cultural Exchange
  • East Asian Environmental Cooperation
  • East Asian Food Security
The recommendations are as follows:
 
A. East Asian Financial Cooperation
 
4. Strengthen regional surveillance. The independent regional surveillance unit of the CMIM (Chiang Mai InitiativeMultilateralization) should be set up as soon as possible. Monitoring and surveillance should include assessing macroeconomic, financial, and structural policies of member countries, issuing early warnings, and monitoring capital flows and exchange rates. The surveillance unit needs to encourage peer reviews among ASEAN +3 countries and strengthen capacity to produce independent conditionality in the event of crisis lending. The IMF de-link portion of the CMIM should be increased gradually and the size of the CMIM should be increased regularly.
 
5. Promote comprehensive regional financial cooperation. An integrated policy dialogue mechanism should be introduced to promote comprehensive financial cooperation in this region. ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers’ Meeting should be expanded into ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting. The expanded group could organize relevant policy coordination activities, including the creation of an “Asian Financial Stability Dialogue” and promoting the ABMI.
 
6. Deepen Asian bond markets.The Credit Guarantee and Investment Mechanism (CGIM) should be exploited to expand the scale of Asian bond markets and to attract more regional savings for regional investment. Bond market infrastructure should be strengthened, such as regional credit rating agencies and a regional clearing and settlement system, to help deepen local-currency bond markets. The institution-building capacities of less developed countries should be improved, cross-border investment in Asian bonds be encouraged and the restrictive investment measures be removed.
 
7. Improve the international financial system. The multilateral and bilateral financial cooperation in the region should contribute to the overall reform of the international financial system, especially in enabling a bigger role of the emerging economies and strengthening surveillance and regulation of the financial markets.
 
 
B. East Asian Investment Cooperation
 
8. Improve the investment environment. A regional investment treaty for   East Asia should be formulated. Non-biased policies, laws and regulations on not only inward but also outward investment should be implemented. Proper mechanisms for national treatment and dispute settlement should be established. An investment promotion agency, investment information and service network and a dispute settlement centre should also be created.
 
9. Strengthen investment cooperation on infrastructure building. The possibilities of building an East Asian Investment Cooperation Fund should be explored. The Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway Network and the stimulus packages should be taken advantage of to further promote investment cooperation on infrastructure building in the region. Public financial support should be enhanced and large amounts of private capital be mobilized to establish the public-private partnership program and develop joint infrastructure projects.
 
10.  Promote human resources development. A training center for investment cooperation should be established to develop high-quality   human resources and streamline administration and management. Labor market information networks could be developed.
 
11.  Encourage green investment for low carbon growth. Full support should be given to green industry, including more investment in its R&D, cooperation in green technology development and transfer, and favorable taxation and lending policies.
 
12.  Establish investment cooperation mechanism for SMEs. Investment policies should be coordinated to give effective financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). An East Asian SME Investment Cooperation Fund should be established to provide favorable conditions and opportunities for SME participation and cooperation in regional investment.
 
C. Enhancement of Cultural Exchange
 
13.  Promote cultural exchange in East Asia because peace and prosperity of East Asian Community is contingent on understanding of both cultural diversity and cultural commonality in the region.
 
14.  Preserve traditional culture and promote dissemination of popular culture. Pay attention to the roles played by popular culture, which has become a part of daily life. Not only developed countries but also remote places in less developed countries now have access to television drama, film and music, both locally-made and imported, thanks to the development of media technologies. Attention to popular culture does not necessarily mean to disregard traditional cultures, which are being marginalized and in danger of extinction in face of commercialization and Westernization of cultures. Measures should be taken to help traditional cultures to sustain and prosper.
 
15.  Pursue the possibility of Common Cultural Policies in order to address issues noted above. In this regard, we propose an establishment of East Asian Cultural Foundation, which would coordinate and facilitate diverse activities of cultural exchange, sharing and cooperation. Some of the Foundation’s programs would include organizing annual or biennial East Asian Cultural Festival, designation of East Asian Cultural Capitals to highlight the commonality of East Asian cultures to regional and global audiences, and forming “research networks” to study common and diverse cultural aspects in the region.
 
16.  Enhance study of East Asian culture and history in institutions of learning in the region.
 
D. East Asian Environmental Cooperation
 
17.  Global warming and climate change issues require governments, public and private organizations and individuals to take a fresh perspective at how economic and social activities can best be organized particularly for those living in crowded urban areas. Heavy resource consumption and high waste output is no longer viable. How to make a city livable is a big challenge. Building eco-cities is one important way forward.
 
18.  As an important model of sustainable development, an eco-city must be economically, environmentally and socially sustainable. First, the eco-city must be able to protect or, if possible, enhance the environment. Second, the eco-city must be able to contribute to economic growth including attracting investments and generating employment. Third, the eco-city must be able to meet social considerations such as increasing social harmony and cultural vibrancy. In recognition of the diversity in East Asia, individual countries and communities need to find the right balance among these three components.
 
19.  Below are some key recommendations to APT governments on building eco-cities: 
 
(1) Promote the development of eco-cities in particular to tackle global warming and climate change. 
(2) Incorporate climate change mitigation and adaptation measures into eco-city development. 
(3) Generate greater awareness of the rationale and long-term benefits of promoting eco-cities among the people, private sector and public sector (or what is commonly known as the 3 Ps). 
(4) Build up human resource and institutional capabilities on environmental protection and eco-cities. 
(5) Facilitate the sharing of information, experience, expertise and technology related to eco-cities such as green building, environmentally sustainable transportation, water management, biodiversity conservation, urban greenery, sanitation and waste management based on the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle). 
(6) Target eco-city capacity building as a priority area for the ASEAN   Plus Three Cooperation Fund. 
(7) Promote and encourage private sector participation in the development of eco-cities. 
(8) Encourage member states or local communities to draw up action plans for the development of eco-cities. 
(9) Extend the existing ASEAN Initiative on Environmentally Sustainable Cities to include other cities in the region.
 
E. East Asia Food Security
 
20.  Promote East Asian Food Security cooperation and gradually build regional institutional mechanisms towards a common food market in East Asia because there will be a number of common interests and benefits in taking region-wide collective measures.
 
21.  Further develop the regional cooperation in the East Asia Emergency Rice Reserve (EAERR) and the ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS), which are expected to be the two main pillars of East Asian food security cooperation and to supplement each other. Contributions of ASEAN+3 countries to sustain EAERR activities should be increased and diversified. Significant expansion of the EAERR is needed to increase humanitarian and public stockpiles, thereby reducing hunger and poverty and ensuring human security. There should be closer coordination and integration of the activities of the EAERR and AFSIS in the ASEAN Integrated Food Security Framework (AIFSF) adopted by the 14th ASEAN Summit in 2009.
 
22. Adopt policies to improve productivity, encourage investment, develop logistic system, promote regional cooperation in agricultural technology and invest in R&D to stimulate agricultural production in developing countries in East Asia. For the twin-track approach to reduce poverty and hunger, intensify efforts to encourage new rural business, green-tourism, micro loans, and rural infrastructure development.
 
23.  Explore the possibility of an East Asian common agricultural policy. In this regard, a Consultative Organization in ASEAN+3 countries should be set up, including a Permanent Secretariat to advance common food security policies in East Asia.
 
Seoul, Korea, 1 September 2009

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