Jakarta. ASEAN's amity pact on Monday officially welcomed new members: Serbia, Panama, and Kuwait.

This brings the number of countries who had acceded to ASEAN’s Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) to 54 nations. The three nations followed Saudi Arabia which had signed the non-aggression treaty when ASEAN held a ministerial-level meeting in July.

ASEAN in 1976 announced the TAC as a legally binding code for inter-state relations within Southeast Asia and beyond. The Southeast Asian bloc has made several amendments to the treaty to enable other countries outside the region to accede to the pact.

Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said she wanted this amity pact to unite ASEAN to forge practical cooperation against common challenges, including food and energy security. 

“Together, we must serve as a positive force for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. Only by fully applying the values and principles of the TAC, we can really ensure that ASEAN matters and becomes an epicentrum of growth,” Retno said at the signing ceremony in Jakarta.

Panamanian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Vladimir Franco said that the signing could pave the way for stronger economic ties with ASEAN. This includes expansion of market access and a boost in exports. He added: “The geographical condition of our Panama Canal. Its economic role, connectivity, and maritime experience make us a strategic partner for ASEAN in terms of cooperation, trade, and logistics.” 

Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister Ivica Dacic said his country shared similar principles to ASEAN, among others, upholding territorial integrity and avoiding intervening in other states’ domestic affairs.

Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al Ahmad al Sabah also made a similar comment.

“Kuwait’s foreign policy and the TAC’s basic principles align through mutual elements, which includes non-interference of internal affairs, respect for sovereignty, settling all disputes through peaceful means, and rejection of any and all threats of using force,” the Kuwaiti diplomat said.

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