Japan and ASEAN to widen cooperation with 130-point action plan.

A commemorative summit to mark the golden jubilee of Japan-Asean relations led to the adoption of a joint vision statement and an 18-page, 130-point implementation plan. The plan covers myriad areas such as security, economy and people-to-people exchanges, with a progress report to be submitted annually at the ASEAN-Japan summit. “The new vision seems to represent continuity rather than change,” Dr Kei Koga from Singapore’s NTU said, lamenting the lack of any significant breakthrough. “Given that Asean is a consensus decision-making institution, it has taken a conservative way of managing the relationship,” he said, noting that Japan would prefer it if Asean could “play a more active and significant role in shaping regional rules and norms”.

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