国际英语新闻：ASEAN foreign ministers convene ahead of regional security forum

An said the third amendment to TAC will be signed on Friday at the 17th ASEAN Regional Forum to allow international organizations to join it, and thus facilitate the accession of the European Union.

An said Canada and Turkey will sign the instrument to join TAC later this week. The moves send strong signal of their commitment to strengthening cooperation with ASEAN and to peace and security in the region, he said.

An said ministers vowed to give full play of the established mechanism in the region like TAC to enhance regional security.

The annual ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting is to formulate the basic policies of the institution of ASEAN.

The Joint Communique adopted at the 43rd Foreign Ministers' Meeting focused on action and measures to further accelerate ASEAN Community building process, broaden ASEAN external relations, and other regional and international issues.

Nguyen Tan Dung, Vietnamese prime minister and chairman of ASEAN summits this year, addressed the opening ceremony on Tuesday that establishing the ASEAN Community by 2015 is the top priority for ASEAN, and much needed to be done to realize the goal.

Dung also expressed growing confidence of ASEAN in participating in regional and international affairs. "ASEAN should present itself as a responsible member of the international community in responding to global challenges, especially economic crisis, climate change and pandemics," he said.

"ASEAN should be more proactive in recommending and undertaking measures to enhance the operational efficiency of ASEAN-led wider regional cooperation frameworks such as ASEAN plus three, East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum," said Dung.

ASEAN was founded in 1967 and currently comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The 17th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) will be held on Friday, drawing foreign ministers and foreign policy chief from its 27 members. ARF is the principal channel for multilateral security dialogue and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.