MFA Press Statement: 4th East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, 21st ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and Post-Ministerial Conferences, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, 10 August 2014

Minister Shanmugam with the East Asia Summit (EAS) Ministers at the 4th EAS Foreign Ministers' Meeting [Photo Credit: MFA]

        Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law K Shanmugam attended the 4^th East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (FMM), the 21^st ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the Post-Ministerial Conferences (PMC) with Australia and New Zealand in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar on 10 August 2014, as part of the 47^th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting and Related Meetings.

        The Ministers exchanged views on regional and international issues, including the tragic downing of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH17 and the situation in the Ukraine as well as developments in the South China Sea, the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East at the 4^th EAS FMM and the 21^st ARF.

        At the 4^th EAS FMM, the Ministers adopted the Plan of Action to implement the Phnom Penh Declaration on EAS Development Initiative, which outlined the six priority areas of EAS cooperation.  The Ministers also discussed ways to enhance cooperation in non-traditional security issues such as rapid disaster response and combating wildlife trafficking.  At the 21^st ARF meeting, the Ministers adopted two statements to promote cooperation in transnational challenges of mutual concern, namely, the ARF Statement on Cooperation for Oil Spill Incidents; and the ARF Statement on Strengthening Cooperation and Coordination on Maritime and Aeronautical Search and Rescue.  They also witnessed the launch of the logo of the 2015 ARF Disaster Relief Exercise (DiREx 2015).  Co-chaired by China and Malaysia, the DiREx 2015, which focuses on civil-military coordination on disaster relief efforts will be conducted in Malaysia in February 2015.

        The ARF Ministers also made a joint call on President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar U Thein Sein, where they reaffirmed the importance of ASEAN centrality in the evolving regional architecture.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

10 AUGUST 2014