ASEAN Welcomes Sweden, Poland, Romania And Lithuania Into Treaty Of Amity And Cooperation
ISTANBUL, July 24 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Friday formally welcomed Sweden, Poland, Romania and Lithuania as the newest parties to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), Anadolu Ajansi reported.
Philippine Foreign Secretary and ASEAN Chair Maria Theresa Lazaro said their accession reflected the treaty’s growing global relevance and the bloc’s role in promoting a rules-based regional order.
Speaking at the signing ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the TAC, Lazaro congratulated the four European countries and said their decision to join demonstrated “a shared conviction of the fundamental principles enshrined in the treaty.”
“The accession of our newest high contracting parties reflects a shared conviction of the fundamental principles enshrined in the treaty, principles that emanate from the core values that ASEAN has upheld for six decades,” she said.
Lazaro described the TAC as a framework whose ideals “have never been confined by geography,” adding: “We are a global community that, while divided by thousands of languages, in one way or another, speak a common aspiration of peace and everlasting amity and cooperation.”
She said the diversity of the new signatories, “from the Baltic to the Nordic states,” illustrated broad international support for ASEAN’s principles of mutual respect and peaceful cooperation.
“Your accession is likewise a recognition of ASEAN’s proactive role as the primary driving force in shaping and leading the rules-based architecture and preserving peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and beyond,” Lazaro said.
The Philippine foreign secretary stressed that the ceremony was “more than just a symbolic occasion,” saying cooperation among treaty parties “is not passive, but a conscious and enduring behaviour” built on collective commitment.
Originally signed by ASEAN’s founding members in 1976, the TAC has expanded steadily over five decades and serves as a key diplomatic instrument promoting peaceful dispute settlement, non-interference and regional cooperation. - Call for end to conflict in Middle East, Myanmar
Separately, a joint communique adopted in Manila by ASEAN foreign ministers outlined the bloc's priorities on regional integration, security and geopolitical challenges.
The ministers reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and its strategic plans, describing them as the blueprint for building a resilient, innovative, dynamic and people-centred ASEAN while strengthening the bloc's unity, centrality and institutional capacity amid an increasingly uncertain global environment.
They reiterated the importance of maintaining peace, stability, freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea.
The ministers called for self-restraint, peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and an early conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct with China.
The communique reaffirmed the Five-Point Consensus as ASEAN's primary framework for resolving Myanmar's crisis, urging an end to violence and greater humanitarian access.
It also expressed serious concern over escalating hostilities in the West Asia amid the US-Iran war, calling for an immediate ceasefire, protection of civilians, respect for international law and renewed diplomatic efforts to prevent wider regional instability.
-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU
