[Title] Cebu Declaration on the Acceleration of the Establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015

WE, the Heads of State/Government of Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, Member Countries of ASEAN, on the occasion of the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu;

ACKNOWLEDGING the prescience of ASEAN Vision 2020 and the significant and important progress that ASEAN has made towards the goals of that visionary declaration;

RECALLING the proposal made at the 11th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur in December 2005, on accelerating the establishment of an ASEAN Community, as well as the exchange of views at the 39th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in July 2006 in Kuala Lumpur and the recommendation from the 38th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting in August 2006;

RECOGNISING that different levels of development within ASEAN require some flexibility as ASEAN moves towards a more integrated and interconnected future;

WELCOMING the concrete outcomes of the First Coordinating Conferences for the ASEAN Security Community Plan of Action (ASCCO) and ASEAN Socio- Cultural Community Plan of Action (SOC-COM), as well as the Consultative Meetings for the Priority Integration Sectors (COPS) under the ASEAN Economic Community;

BUILDING UPON our commitment to the Vientiane Action Programme in November 2004 as successor to the Hanoi Plan of Action to realise the aims of ASEAN Vision 2020 and the Declaration of ASEAN Concord II, and welcoming the establishment of the ASEAN Development Fund in 2005 as a positive step towards integration;

EXPRESSING SATISFACTION with the progress towards narrowing the development gap under the Initiative for ASEAN Integration and other programmes and acknowledging the need to enhance efforts to achieve this goal;

DETERMINED to deal more effectively with the increasing range of transboundary concerns which ASEAN faces in this rapidly changing world since the articulation of Vision 2020 in 1997 and the Declaration of ASEAN Concord II in 2003 through better coordination and increased cooperation within ASEAN;

ENCOURAGED by ASEAN's deepening relations with our Dialogue Partners in various areas including our FTA negotiations, comprehensive plans of action and the convening of the East Asia Summit, and our Dialogue Partners' engagement of ASEAN as a reliable and substantive partner in the development of a larger community in the region;

CONSCIOUS also that the strengthening of ASEAN integration through the accelerated establishment of an ASEAN Community will reinforce ASEAN's centrality and role as the driving force in charting the evolving regional architecture;

BELIEVING that at the core of ASEAN's response to the increasing number of regional challenges must be its efforts to build a strong ASEAN Community premised on a closely integrated, dynamic and vibrant regional economy, deeper political and security cooperation and stronger socio-cultural linkages;

DO HEREBY DECLARE:

FIRST, ASEAN's strong commitment towards accelerating the establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015 along the lines of ASEAN Vision 2020 and the Declaration of ASEAN Concord II, in the three pillars of the ASEAN Security Community, ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community;

SECOND, ASEAN's strong determination to accelerate the full implementation of the ASEAN Community's programme areas, measures and principles, with appropriate flexibility;

THIRD, ASEAN's determination to create a stronger, more united and cohesive ASEAN that can better manage the challenges posed by the evolving regional architecture and economic climate; and

FOURTH, that ASEAN remains committed to further expanding our engagement with our Dialogue Partners and other parties, and believes that such interaction will assist ASEAN in its integration efforts to achieve the ASEAN Community by 2015.

DONE at Cebu, Philippines, this Thirteenth Day of January in the Year Two Thousand and Seven, in a single original copy in the English Language.

For Brunei Darussalam:

HAJI HASSANAL BOLKIAH

Sultan of Brunei Darussalam

For the Kingdom of Cambodia:

SAMDECH HUN SEN

Prime Minister

For the Republic of Indonesia:

DR. SUSILO BAMBANG YUDHOYONO

President

For the Lao People's Democratic Republic:

BOUASONE BOUPHAVANH

Prime Minister

For Malaysia:

DATO' SERI ABDULLAH AHMAD BADAWI

Prime Minister

For the Union of Myanmar:

GENERAL SOE WIN

Prime Minister

For the Republic of the Philippines:

GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO

President

For the Republic of Singapore:

LEE HSIEN LOONG

Prime Minister

For the Kingdom of Thailand:

GENERAL SURAYUD CHULANONT (RET.)

Prime Minister

For the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam:

NGUYEN TAN DUNG

Prime Minister