WE, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), namely Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, gathered in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, on the occasion of the 42nd ASEAN Summit on 10 – 11 May 2023;
COGNISANT of ASEAN’s aims and purposes as laid out in the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration), including to enhance regional security and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law, adherence to the principles of the ASEAN Charter and the United Nations Charter, as well as accelerate economic growth, social progress, and cultural development in the spirit of equality and, partnership, and shared vision among its Member States;
REAFFIRMING our vision to be a peaceful, stable, secure, prosperous and resilient Community with enhanced capacity to respond to and address challenges effectively, and an outward-looking region within a global community of nations, while maintaining ASEAN Centrality and unity with strengthened efforts and empowered capabilities to seize opportunities in the coming decade;
RECOGNISING the need to strengthen ASEAN’s capacity and institutional effectiveness including through enabling ASEAN to respond to crises and emergency situations in a timely manner, in accordance with the principles enshrined in the ASEAN Charter, while ensuring that ASEAN’s Community-building process remains unimpeded amidst such situations;
FURTHER REAFFIRMING that a strengthened ASEAN will be enhanced by the ability to develop agile institutions, that will be able to effectively respond to urgent situations in a timely manner so as, to maintain peace and security, as well as ensure the prosperity of our peoples;
RECOGNISING the work done in 2022 by the High-Level Task Force on ASEAN Community’s Post-2025 Vision (HLTF-ACV), particularly the Recommendations on Strengthening ASEAN’s Capacity and Institutional Effectiveness, which was adopted at the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits, held on 11 November 2022 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
HEREBY DECLARE TO:
1. ACHIEVE the purposes and uphold the principles enshrined in the ASEAN Charter as well as to consolidate our Community-building process, building upon and deepening the integration process to realise a rules-based, people-oriented, peoplecentered ASEAN Community, where our peoples enjoy human rights and fundamental freedoms, higher quality of life and the benefits of Community-building;
2. REAFFIRM our commitment and undertake efforts to maintain ASEAN Centrality, unity and relevance amidst the challenges faced by our region and beyond;
3. REDOUBLE our efforts to strengthen ASEAN’s capacity and institutional effectiveness to address current and future challenges, and respond to crises in a timely manner, in line with the objectives of the ASEAN SHIELD as well as harness emerging opportunities in order to accelerate the momentum of our ASEAN Community-building efforts and mitigate potential adverse impacts towards the realisation of our vision for a peaceful, secure, stable, inclusive, and prosperous region;
4. FURTHER STRENGTHEN ASEAN-led mechanisms and process when engaging with external partners and in an evolving regional architecture centered on ASEAN that is open, transparent, inclusive, and rules-based; and
5. REITERATE our support for the ASEAN Coordinating Council (ACC) in its follow-up on the Recommendations on Strengthening ASEAN's Capacity and Institutional Effectiveness by the HLTF-ACV, as tasked at the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits, and look forward to its report to the 43rd ASEAN Summit.
Adopted on this Tenth Day of May in the Year Two Thousand and Twenty-Three in a single original copy in the English language.
