Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Surin Pitsuwan's Speech at the Flag Hoisting ere!ony to o!!e!

orate ASEAN "#st Anni$ersary ASEAN Secretariat, % August &''% Excellencies, the Ambassadors of ASEAN, Excellencies, the Ambassadors ASEAN Dialogue Partners, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, The birth of ASEAN took place on this da !" ears ago #hen fi$e #ise men of ASEAN % &'E' Adam (alik from )ndonesia, &'E' Narciso *amos from the Philippines, &'E' S' *a+aratnam from Singapore, &'E' Tun Abdul *a,ak from (ala sia, and &'E' Tun Thanat -oman, (inister of .oreign Affairs of Thailand at that time % gathered in a small $illage called /ang Saen, southeast of /angkok' The had a dream % the dream of a stable, secure and prosperous Southeast Asia' 0ur fi$e #ise men ga$e us a path to the future' .our decades later, #e gather here on the grounds of the Secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to celebrate that dream' 1e celebrate #ith a series of rituals 2 hoisting of the ASEAN flag and listening to the ASEAN h mn' All these colourful and impressi$e ceremonies and rituals are stuff that create institutions3 and definitel , ASEAN is no# the institution of the region' &o#e$er, #e are here representing more than the original fi$e countries #hose high representati$es huddled around a small table, crafting the ASEAN Declaration of the 4th of August in /ang Saen' No#, there are ten ASEAN (ember States' All ten countries of Southeast Asia are no# brought under a big umbrella called ASEAN' )n addition to the original fi$e, /runei Darussalam, 5iet Nam, Lao PD*, ( anmar and 6ambodia +oined ASEAN' ASEAN no# has Dialogue Partners from all corners of the #orld7 Australia, 6anada, 6hina, the E8, )ndia, 9apan, South -orea, Ne# :ealand, *ussia, the 8nited States and the 8nited Nations' As #e toil on to realise the dream of our .ounding .athers, #e ha$e one plan and #e ha$e confounded sceptics' 1e ha$e made de$elopment partners out of those #ho had doubts about our $iabilit ' 1e ha$e made dialogue partners out of those #ho are once reluctant to associate #ith us, holding +udgment about our sustainabilit and our resilienc ' )n fact, on ;th of August ";<=, there #as an interesting anecdote' The 6harge de Affaires of the /ritish Embass in /angkok #rote to his .oreign and 6ommon#ealth 0ffice in London sa ing these ne# countries had tried man organisations before but all ha$e failed' This time ASEAN looks prett con$incing and looks like it>s going to last' The ad$ice from the 6harge de Affaires to the .oreign and 6ommon#ealth 0ffice that da #as7 #e don>t need to gi$e them an thing3 #e alread ha$e gi$en them the most $aluable gift of all % the all spoke in English' ) +ust got that piece of information from the .oreign and 6ommon#ealth 0ffice after the declassified that document ten da s ago'

As #e in ASEAN embark on our communit building in accordance to the ASEAN 6harter promulgated for the first time b our Leaders last No$ember, our friends, allies and Dialogue Partners % all of them represented here this morning % also #ish us #ell' The are eager to see us succeed in our efforts to construct this ne# structure, this ne# architecture of cooperation across the region and be ond' The ne# ASEAN 6harter has no# #on se$en ratifications from the ten (embers' ) am standing in front of ou #ith full confidence that b December, #e #ill ha$e the rest' 0nl esterda , a piece of enabling legislation has passed the first reading in the Lo#er &ouse in /angkok' The communit #ill be built on three pillars as ou kno#7 Political and Securit , Economic and Socio%6ultural' )n all the three pillars and three communities, #e are embarking on our full effort to create stronger pillars for a stronger ASEAN' 1e are establishing #hat #e call the 6ommittee of Permanent *epresentati$es here in 9akarta #orking #ith the Secretariat' The Terms of *eference for that are being drafted no#' 1e are creating, for the first time, our &uman *ights /od 3 the Terms of *eference for that are being dra#n up no#' 1e #ill ha$e a &igh Le$el Task .orce on Legal (atters #hose report #ill define the ?legal personalit @ of the ne# ASEAN' So the ASEAN sprit is being re$itali,ed' The original dream is being repeated and #e are here to make the dream a realit ' ASEAN is essentiall a Tapestr of &ope' 1e are all engaged in #ea$ing it into a robust architecture that #ill reflect our aspirations for the future of our region and a better life for our posterit ' 0ur celebrations #ill continue for the next three da s, beginning #ith the second /est of ASEAN Performing Arts tonight b the great artistes from Thailand' ) hope all of ou #ill +oin us for that performance in the old theatre in do#nto#n /ata$ia' Then on Sunda , #e #ill ha$e our .amil Da #ith the staff of the ASEAN Secretariat and the ASEAN Embassies' )t #ill be a da on bonding among us in the ASEAN .amil ' All of us #ill be recharged for the challenges ahead' ) ha$e to thank all of ou, Ambassadors of the ASEAN 6ountries, Ambassadors and &igh *epresentati$es of the Dialogue Partners for +oining us toda in our celebration of four decades of success, four decades of prosperit and four decades of tremendous sacrifices for the #ell% being of our people in the region as dreamt up b our .ounding .athers !" ears ago' ) hope that this is the ne# beginning for ASEAN and ) hope from no# on, the #ord ASEAN #ill be inscribed and enshrined in e$er heart of the peoples of ASEAN % the A<= million of them % so that e$er time the hear the #ord ASEAN, it #ill inspire them and it #ill encourage them' )t #ill remind them not +ust of the dream and but of the potentialit that that dream can lead us into the future, again for the benefit of our people and for the future of our prosperit '

Shall ) sa ?Long Li$e ASEAN@3 shall ) sa ?9a a ASEAN@, or shall ) sa ?&app /irthda ASEAN' ) hope all these are appropriate for this occasion' Thank ou'