JAKARTA, 11 April 2019 – ASEAN and China reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen their strategic partnership at the 20^th ASEAN-China Joint Cooperation Committee (ACJCC) meeting held on 9 April at the ASEAN Secretariat.

The meeting welcomed the significant progress made in the implementation of the ASEAN-China Plan of Action 2016-2020 which includes the large number of activities and projects implemented in more than 82% of the identified action lines. Notable progress has been made in areas such as traditional and non-traditional security, trade, tourism, agriculture, transport, education, health, culture and information, media, environment, and narrowing the development gap.

Progress was also achieved in following up the decisions made by the Leaders of ASEAN and China at the 21^st ASEAN-China Summit last November, in line with the ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership Vision 2030 to further strengthen the relations.

Both sides agreed on the need to further expand the substantive economic relationship, with efforts focused on strengthening trade and investment relations, including through the implementation of the Protocol to upgrade the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area as well as enhancing connectivity. People-to-people exchanges will also be strengthened including through enhanced cooperation in tourism and education. ASEAN welcomed China’s continued support for ASEAN’s community-building efforts, including its intention to increase contribution to the ASEAN-China Cooperation Fund to support more cooperation projects.

The meeting discussed activities to be conducted during the ASEAN-China Year of Media Exchange 2019 to promote mutual understanding between the two sides. The ASEAN-China Year of Media Exchange was launched in January in Jakarta and in February in Beijing, and a joint statement on media exchanges is expected to be issued by the ASEAN-China Summit in November this year.

The 20^th ACJCC meeting was co-chaired by the Permanent Representative of the Philippines to ASEAN Elizabeth P. Buensuceso and Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to ASEAN Huang Xilian. It was attended by the Permanent Representatives of ASEAN Member States and representatives of the ASEAN Secretariat.

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12 April 2019 – ASEAN Secretariat and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) co-organised the first workshop on challenges and humanitarian action in Southeast Asia in Jakarta yesterday.

The workshop established a platform for experience-sharing and dialogue-exchange on contemporary humanitarian trends and issues in ASEAN countries. Participants also discussed international humanitarian law and principles, regionalisation and localisation of humanitarian action, as well mental health and psychological support in disasters.

As the humanitarian landscape is shifting, ASEAN needs to rapidly mature in humanitarian response strategies to meet the needs of affected Member States. “We need to further advance the ASEAN Way towards a strong coordination mechanism involving key stakeholders,” said Dato Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary-General of ASEAN. The Secretary-General also stressed that ASEAN must not be complacent in their strategies and continue to nurture cooperative relationships with other actors in the region including international organisations like the ICRC.

On his part, Alexandre Faite, ICRC Head of Regional Delegation for Indonesia and Timor-Leste, said that ASEAN and the ICRC shared the same humanitarian values. “It is now important to translate them into tangible exchange between actors in the region on how to make most of the existing experiences for meaningful humanitarian action,” he said. “We hope that our expertise of neutral humanitarian work across the globe and international humanitarian law will open door to regular dialogue with ASEAN on humanitarian topics of mutual concern,” added Alexandre.

The workshop was attended by representatives from the National Disaster Management Offices of ASEAN Member States, the ASEAN Secretariat, the AHA Centre, the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, think tanks and academia.

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