During 2 - 3 May 2013, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phungketkeow led the Thai delegation to the 26th ASEAN-U.S. Dialogue in Washington D.C. Senior Officials from all ten ASEAN Member States, the ASEAN Secretariat, and the United States shared views and had a constructive discussion on wide ranging regional issues across ASEAN’s political-security, economic and socio-cultural pillars, such as maritime security, transnational crime, humanitarian assistance/disaster relief, the ASEAN-U.S. Expanded Economic Engagement (E3) Initiative, energy, education, rule of law and development in the Lower Mekong Sub-region (LMI).

Permanent Secretary Sihasak Phuangketkeow highlighted Thailand’s active role as a country coordinator for ASEAN-China Dialogue in encouraging all parties concerned to maintain the momentum of consultations and work together on the full implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), as well as the conclusion of the Code of Conduct (COC). He reiterated the importance of ASEAN’s cohesiveness in the peaceful settlement of disputes. He also called for ASEAN and the U.S. to work together to strengthen and streamline regional disaster relief efforts and step-up partnership on maritime security through various cooperative frameworks.

On the political-security pillar, the meeting commended Thailand’s co-hosting of the ASEAN Regional Forum-Disaster Relief Exercise (ARF-DiRex) with the Republic of Korea in Cha-am. The meeting believed it was imperative to develop a regional and legal framework to support the delivery and acceptance of emergency relief supplies and thus agreed to hold further discussions on the U.S.’s proposal on Rapid Disaster Response (RDR) agreement to help accelerate and syndicate efforts on regional disaster management, as well as enhance concerted efforts on humanitarian assistance. In light of regional security, the meeting took note of the increasing nuclear threat by, and the importance of sustaining dialogue with the DPRK, and working together on the obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), particularly on pending issues related to the SEANWFZ treaty. The meeting also reaffirmed a commitment to deepening law enforcement cooperation on cyber security and cyber crime.

With regard to the economic pillar, the meeting welcomed the U.S.’s efforts to elevate ASEAN’s trade and investment standards and agreed to intensify its economic cooperation towards the Expanded Economic Engagement (E3) Initiative, which would help facilitate development of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The meeting agreed that the TPP and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) would complement regional FTAs.

Taking note of the increasing threat from climate change, the meeting agreed to step up efforts on energy efficiency and to work on the U.S.-Asia Pacific Comprehensive Energy Partnership. It also acknowledged the role of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in promoting renewable and sustainable energy and agreed to work closely on clean energy with international institutions such as the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

On the socio-cultural pillar, the meeting took note of the U.S.’s re-balancing strategy to foster closer ties and cooperation with Asia. They appreciated the U.S.’s support for ASEAN’s 5 Year Work Plan on Education 2011-2015, particularly through its Fulbright Exchange Program and for the establishment of the ASEAN Curriculum Sourcebook. The meeting underscored ASEAN’s efforts in the protection and promotion of human rights with the adoption of a human rights declaration and to work together to combat human trafficking.  The meeting also hailed the U.S.’s crucial support for ASEAN’s capacity building efforts through the Lower Mekong Sub-region Initiative (LMI) program, which would be complementary to the Initiative for ASEAN Integration Work Plan (IAI Work Plan), and looked forward to enhanced U.S. support in regional connectivity.

The ASEAN-U.S. Dialogue reflects the strong and multi-faceted relationship between ASEAN and the United States. Since its inception 36 years ago, it has served as a forum for senior officials from ASEAN and the United States to discuss ways to further enhance ASEAN - U.S. partnership. This year’s meeting was co-chaired by the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs’ Acting Assistant Secretary, Joseph Y. Yun and Director-General of the ASEAN Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, U Aung Lynn.

The meeting also discussed preparations for the ASEAN Post - Ministerial Conference (PMC) Session with the United States and the first ever ASEAN-U.S. Summit scheduled for later this year. They agreed to hold the 27th ASEAN-U.S. Dialogue in Myanmar in the first half of 2014.