Brunei, Laos and Malaysia have joined Singapore in ratifying the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Charter, Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said Wednesday.
"We fully expect it to be ratified at the next Summit in Bangkok in December this year," Yeo said while briefing the media after the 10 ASEAN foreign ministers ended a two-day retreat in Singapore.
ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan received the instruments of ratification from Laos and Malaysia on the sidelines of the retreat, a statement by Singapore Foreign Ministry said.
And Brunei deposited its instrument of ratification on Feb. 15.
Singapore, the current ASEAN chair, was the first country to ratify the Charter after it was signed by the grouping's leaders at the Summit in Singapore last November.
The Charter aims to transform the bloc, which was formed in 1967, into a more rules-based community.
The foreign ministers agreed to establish high level panels of officials to draft the terms of reference for the human rights body and to draft the dispute settlement mechanism, both envisaged in the Charter, said Yeo.
The draft terms will be tabled to the ministers when they next meet in Singapore in July.
He added that the grouping will establish the Committee of Permanent Representatives once upon the ratification of the Charter, in effect Jan. 1 next year.
"This means that every ASEAN country will appoint an ambassador to the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta like the arrangement in the United Nations or in Brussels for the European Union," he said.
The ministers also agreed that the ASEAN year will begin from Jan. 1, compared to currently beginning from July.
This means that Thailand as the next host will be in the chair for one and a half years, as well as host three summits under their watch, including the two foremost summits at the end of the year plus a retreat summit which the new charter calls for.
The bloc also groups Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
Source: Xinhua
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