The ASEAN Senior Officials’ Preparatory Meeting (Prep-SOM) blueprint is all set to get implemented as per the implementation of the action lines under the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) Blueprint 2025.
“The meeting was happy to note that the APSC 2015 Blueprint, which was among the issues discussed during the Prep-SOM meeting concluded yesterday, had been fully implemented,” Malaysian Foreign Ministry secretary-general Datuk Othman Hashim said. “We have had extensive deliberation on a number of issues of mutual interest and discussed the preparation for the 27th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits that will be held in the next two days,” he added.
Mr Hashim also said that ASEAN Foreign Ministers would meet for the 13th APSC meeting and 17th ASEAN Coordinating Council Meeting. The issues discussed at the Prep-SOM meeting included the implementation of the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and Consultations on the Code of Conduct (COC).
The member states also took note of the outcome of the 15th ASEAN-China Joint Working Group on the Implementation of the DOC and the 10th ASEAN-China SOM on DOC, Mr Hashim said. An important issue that was discussed was related to Timur Leste’s application to become an ASEAN member and its implication on APSC. “Based on the report of the study on Timor Leste’s membership application, ASEAN member states were hopeful that it could be completed by the first half of next year,” he added.
Terrorism was a major issue discussed during the meeting. The concerns about escalation in terror incidents in Malaysia were also focused on. “Malaysia too is not spared from acts of violence. The recent brutal murder of one of our countrymen by a member of a terrorist organisation clearly shows their grim presence in our region and the real and serious danger that they pose to us,” Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said.
Elaborating on the APSC, Mr Anifah spoke about the positive impact the community would have and expressed confidence that the meeting would give ASEAN the opportunity to assess the progress and achievements made in the region, especially in the political security pillar.
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