Strengthening the East Asia Summit and making military budgets transparent Be that as it may, in my view, the time has come to place emphasis on the East Asia Summit.
The ARF is a meeting held at the Foreign Minister level, while the ADMM+ is, as the name describes, a meeting at the Defence Minister level.
There is no stage that outshines the East Asia Summit as a venue for heads of state and government to come together and discuss the order that is desirable.
Keeping military expansion in check and making military budgets transparent, as well as enlarging the number of countries that conclude the Arms Trade Treaty and improving mutual understanding between authorities in charge of national defence -- there is no lack of issues those of us national leaders ought to take up, applying peer pressure on each other.
I urge the further enhancement of the East Asia Summit, as the premier forum taking up regional politics and security. Next year marks the tenth anniversary of the launch of the EAS.
I propose that we first create a permanent committee comprised of permanent representatives to ASEAN from the member countries and then prepare a roadmap to bring renewed vitality to the Summit itself while also making the Summit along with the ARF and the ADMM+ function in a multi-layered fashion.
The first thing we should discuss is the principle of disclosure. We have all heard the saying that “sunshine is the best disinfectant.” From now, Asia will continue to play the leading role in pulling the prosperity of the world forward.
Military expansion is not merely illmatched but also inherently unworthy of such a place as this. The fruits of prosperity should instead be reinvested into even greater prosperity and improving people’s lives.
I believe that a framework under which we publicly disclose our military budgets step by step that enables us to cross-check each other is a system that we should seek to establish as we extend the scope of the East Asia Summit. |
