ASEAN ministers commit to speeding up integration

SINGAPORE, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ended their annual meeting on Monday with collective commitment to establish an integrated regional bloc.

"We reaffirmed our common desire and collective commitment to the establishment of an ASEAN Community of peace, stability and prosperity and social progress," the ministers said in a statement issued at the end of the one-day 41st ASEAN Ministerial Meeting.

Addressing the opening of the meeting, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the regional bloc has decided to press on with the ASEAN Charter's implementation without waiting for all10 members to ratify it.

"The internal processes of member countries are different and some will be more difficult than others. However, the pace of ASEAN integration should not be set by its slowest members, or else all will be held back by the problems of a few", Lee said as ASEAN Chair.

The Charter, signed by ASEAN leaders in last November's summit, aims to transform the 10-member bloc from a loose association into a rules-based organization which will encourage members to take agreements and commitments seriously.

Myanmar's ratification of the ASEAN Charter was formalized here at a ceremony Monday afternoon, joining the other six member countries to ratify the Charter. Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia have not ratified the Charter yet.

During the meeting, the ministers reaffirmed the commitment to ratify the ASEAN Charter by the end-of-year summit in Bangkok, said the statement.

As part of the charter's goals, it has already set up a panel to study the establishment of a human rights body so as to brush up its human rights image in the eyes of the world and another panel to study the establishment of a dispute settlement mechanism to resolve any misunderstandings on agreements signed among member states.