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June 16, 1966

Entered into force 16 June 1966,

JOINT COMMUNIQUE CONSTITUTING AN AGREEMENT FOR ASIAN AND PACIFIC COOPERATION

1. At the invitation of the Government of the Republic of Korea, the Ministers of the Asian and Pacific countries comprising Australia, the Republic of China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Republic of the Philippines, Thailand and the Republic of Vietnam, as well as the observer from the Kingdom of Laos, met in Seoul, the Republic of Korea, on June 14-16, 1966.

2. His Excellency Park Chung-hee, President of the Republic of Korea, in his address, welcomed all the delegates and, underlining the importance and significance of the Meeting, called for greater cooperation and solidarity among the free Asian and Pacific countries in their efforts to safeguard their national independence and integrity against any Communist aggression or infiltration, and to develop their national economies.

3. Throughout the entire course of deliberations, there was a free and frank exchange of views on matters of common concern in a spirit of friendship and mutual cooperation.

4. The Ministers reaffirmed the dedication of the peoples of the Asian and Pacific region to the common cause of peace, freedom and prosperity, and their determination to preserve their integrity and sovereignty in the face of external threats. They agreed that the free countries of the region should further strengthen their solidarity and cooperation to achieve their common objectives in various fields.

5. The Ministers, noting the threat to peace and the hazards to health and safety caused by nuclear explosions, deplored tests conducted within the Asian and Pacific region.

6. The Ministers expressed their sympathy for the government and people of the Republic of Vietnam in their firm stand to protect their independence and sovereignty and they upheld the inherent right of the Vietnamese people to self-defense and to choose their own way of life and their own form of government free from external aggression and subversion.

They also noted with satisfaction the value of the assistance being given by these nations, both Asian and non-Asian, which have themselves decided to support the Republic of Vietnam in one form or another.

They deplored that up to date moves towards bringing about a peaceful solution of the problem have been rejected and expressed the hope that every effort would continue to be made to achieve peace.

7. The Ministers were keenly aware of the urgent need for continuing consultations among participating countries with a view to forging better inter- national understanding, promoting closer and more fruitful regional cooperation and further strengthening Asian and Pacific solidarity. They emphasized that every encouragement should be given to other free countries in the Asian and Pacific region to participate in future consultations.

8. To this end, the Ministers resolved that to implement the desired con- tinuing process of consultations on regular basis, the Second Ministerial Meeting for Asian and Pacific Cooperation would be held in Bangkok in the course of 1967, and that pending and during the Second Ministerial Meeting the govern- ment of Thailand would act as the clearing house and provide a working secretarial. To permit further consultations pending the Second Ministerial Meeting, it was agreed to set up in Bangkok a standing committee composed of accredited ambassadors from participating countries and with the Foreign Minister of Thailand as chairman. Future Ministerial Meetings shall be referred to as Ministerial Meetings of the Asian and Pacific Council.

9. The Ministers also felt the pressing necessity for more active and fruit- ful cooperation among participating countries for the mutual benefit of their peoples in the economic, technical, cultural, social and the information fields. They accordingly considered the desirability of setting up an Economic Coordination Centre, a Technical Co-ordination Centre, a Social and Cultural Centre And a Mutual Information Service and requested the Standing Committee referred to in the preceding paragraph to undertake studies concerning their establish- ment for further consideration by the Governments of the participating countries. Other proposals for the setting up of a Commodities and Fertilizer Bank, a Technicians Pool and a Centre for Asian and Pacific Studies shall also be Referred to the Standing Committee for study.

10. The Ministers recalled that all countries participating in this Meeting were members of a number of existing international and regional organizations and agreed that they should work for further enhancement of the value to be derived from them as well as explore all avenues for even greater cooperation among themselves.

11. The Ministers strongly supported the United Nations objectives in Korea as set out in General Assembly Resolution No. 376-V dated October 7, 1950, which had been reaffirmed in subsequent resolutions the latest of which was Resolution No, 2132-XX dated December 21, 1965. These objectives are to bring about by peaceful means the establishment of a unified, independent, and democratic Korea under a representative form of government and the full restoration of international peace and security in the area. They reiterated that these objectives be respected and implemented by all parties concerned.

12. The Ministers noted with satisfaction the improvement in the rela- tions between countries In the region and expressed the hope that the rule of law will be observed in the relationships between countries of the region and that regional disputes shall be settled in the spirit of friendly consultations and in keeping with the principles of the United Nations Charter.

13. The Ministers of the Asian and Pacific countries expressed their deep appreciation for the cordial and generous hospitality of the government and people of the Republic of Korea as well as for the inspiring guidance provided by the President of the Republic of Korea.

For Australia:

(Sgd.) P. M. C. HASLUCK
Minister of Foreign Affairs

For the Republic of China:

(Sgd.) WEI TAO-MING
Minister of Foreign Affairs

For Japan:

(Sgd.) ESTABURO SHIINA
Minister of Foreign Affairs

For the Republic of Korea:

(Sgd.) TONG WONG LEE
Minister of Foreign Affairs

For Malaysia:

(Sgd.) MOHAMED KHIR JOHARl
Minister of Education

For New Zealand:

(Sgd.) NORMAN LESLIE SHELTHON
Minister of Customs and
Associate Minister of Industries
and Commerce

For the Republic of the Philippines:

(Sgd.) NARCISO RAMOS
Secretary of Foreign Affairs

For the Kingdom of Thailand:

(Sgd.) THANAT VAN DO
Minister of Foreign Affairs

For the Republic of Vietnam:

(Sgd.) TRAN VAN DO
Minister of Foreign Affairs

Seoul, Republic of Korea
16 June 1966