By Ambassador (p) Gheorghe SAVUICA*
ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC), established in 1976, is a treaty of cooperation and non-aggression between ASEAN countries and their partners. The agreement aims to promote peace, friendship, and cooperation among Southeast Asian nations. As of September 2023, 54 countries had joined the treaty.
According to the 57th Joint Communiqué of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of ASEAN member countries, issued on July, 25, 2024 in Vientiane, the high officials “reaffirmed the importance of the TAC as the key code of conduct in governing inter-state relations in the region and as a foundation for maintaining regional peace and stability. We remained committed to further promoting the principles embodied in the TAC. We emphasised the importance of all High Contracting Parties (HCPs) in fulfilling their obligations under the Treaty. We welcomed the growing interest of non-regional countries to accede to the TAC, on the basis of respect for and in conformity with the purposes and principles of the TAC. We looked forward to the accession of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of Spain, the United Mexican States, and the Republic of Finland to the TAC.”
Acceding to TAC is a conditional requirement to further enter into dialogue partnerships with ASEAN. It is of utmost importance to note that in the same 57th Joint Communiqué, the signatories announced that “We recalled our decision to commence a comprehensive review of the moratorium on new dialogue partnerships, in conjunction with the work of the ASEAN Community Vision Post-2025, with the objective to enhance the ASEAN Community and advance ASEAN’s relations with external parties. In this regard, we noted the ongoing discussion of the ASEAN Senior Officials and looked forward to their recommendations for our consideration”.
No wonder why the Press release issued by the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia on the ASEAN Day Flag Ceremony to commemorate the 57th Anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is entitled “ Indonesian Ambassador Encourages Romania to Access ASEAN TAC”.
The event was organized by the ASEAN Committee in Bucharest at the Embassy of Indonesia. The Ambassador of Indonesia, Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, is the current Chair of the Committee. He was accompanied by the Malaysian Ambassador, Tengku Sirajuzzaman Bin Tengku Mohammed Ariffin; the Thai Ambassador, Dao Vibulpanich and the chargé d'affaires of the Vietnamese Embassy, Nguyen Ngoc Linh.
In the official document, it is underscored that the encouragement to Romania to access TAC was conveyed by the Ambassador of Indonesia, in his capacity as Chair of the Committee, during this important event for ASEAN and its partners. Further, the Press release quoted the response of the Guest of Honour from Romanian side: “Responding to this, the Secretary of State for Global Affairs and International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania, Traian Hristea welcomed the proposal and conveyed Romania's commitment to being involved in regional peace. The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially declares its readiness to access the TAC," said Hristea. He added that “Romania is aware of the importance of ASEAN and is proud to be a friend of Southeast Asian countries”.
Without any hesitation, we consider that it is the very time for Romania’s acceding to TAC and to enter into partnership with ASEAN. IRSEA started since a long time ago to promote such a significant political and diplomatic move on its conviction that it will be to the benefit of both sides (see www.irsea.ro)
Fifty-seven years ago, Romania was among the first countries (for sure the first among the former socialist countries) that recognized ASEAN according to its own Charter- as being a regional organization for economic cooperation. Unfortunately, the initial international perception was that ASEAN is a substitute to military bloc SEATO.
The Secretary of State Traian Hristea emphasized that Romania “appreciates ASEAN efforts to promote and consolidate peace, stability, security and development in the Southeast Asian Region”. He continued saying that “As a member of the European Union (EU), Romania sees the EU and ASEAN as two major players that can make a difference on the global stage. Romania also supports the implementation of the EU-ASEAN Action Plan 2023-2027 and the EU strategy on Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.”
History proved that ASEAN made Southeast Asia “the most peaceful region with the fastest economic growth equivalent to 3.5% of global GDP” as it was correctly pinpointed by the Indonesian Ambassador, who also brought to the attention that "with the world being torn apart by divisions, conflicts, and power blocs, ASEAN is actually taking advantage of inclusivity. Therefore, we hope that ASEAN can be a beacon amidst many global uncertainties.”
IRSEA will continue to support the consolidation of the relations between Romania and ASEAN and is looking forward for a fast conclusion of the official procedure of both sides regarding the accession of non-regional partners to the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC).
* The author is the Founder and President of IRSEA and Founder and Honorary President of Romania-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He is a graduate of Moscow State Institute of International Relations. As a career diplomat with over four decades of diplomatic service, an University recognized specialist on Southeast Asia and ASEAN, speaker of Bahasa Indonesia, Russian and English, he represented Romania as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Pakistan and Indonesia and Chief of Mission, with Cabinet Letter, to Sri Lanka, Malaysia, the Philippines, Cyprus, Finland and Estonia.
He published multiple articles, thought-pieces and commentaries reflecting his views on current dynamics in International Affairs and the ongoing developments related to the greater scope of Europe Asia relations. He authored several major chapters in edited volumes on Romania’s Foreign Policy, published by the Romanian Academy.
Ambassador (p) Savuica is a former Director of the Republic of Moldova Division, former Director of the Asia Pacific Division and former Director General of the Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Latin America Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of ROMANIA.
He is married and has two daughters, a granddaughter and a grandson.