ASEAN, China ink media cooperation pact

SUZHOU, China — The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed an agreement seeking to further enhance and create platforms for media exchanges and cooperation with its dialogue partner, China.

The representatives of major news media and information agencies from China and six ASEAN member states Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines drafted a statement aimed at improving media policy and information exchange across the region during the China-ASEAN Member States Information Ministerial Meeting held here last November 21 and 22.

Born out of the need to continue the Work Plant on Enhancing ASEAN-China Cooperation Through Information And Media ‎‎‎2015-2017, which comes to a close this year, PCOO Assistant Secretary Kristian Ablan joined the senior information officials meeting on November 21, where they signed the agreement on media cooperation.

PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar attended the ministerial meeting on November 22, where he, together with China SCIO Minister Jiang Jianguo, Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith, Laos Information Minister Vongdara Bosengkham, and Indonesian Communications Secretary-General Farida Dwi Cahuatini, among others, agreed on the initiative.

The ministers’ proposed the following priority areas of cooperation:

1.  Encourage news and media authorities to enhance communication and mutual visits;
2.  Actively promote exchanges among media outlets, such as programme exchange, information sharing, film co-production, joint news coverage, and personnel exchange;
3. Encourage media organizations to cover the economic, political, cultural, social and ecological accomplishments achieved by China and ASEAN member states, to increase mutual understanding;
4.  Enhance cooperation in areas of press, publication, broadcasting, film, television, and new media;
5. Encourage media associations to increase contact and communication;
6. Facilitate journalists’ access to interviews during important events;
7. Boost people-to-people exchanges, advocate dialogue among Asian civilizations, and encourage think tanks to carry out discussions on issues of common concern; and
8. Promote the establishment of a Belt and Road media cooperation alliance, with the aim to facilitate information sharing and in-depth cooperation.

Bannered by the theme “Enhancing Practical Media Cooperation to Build a Closer China-ASEAN Community of Shared Future,” the initiative and its priority areas of cooperation will be brought up to ASEAN, shared with other ASEAN member states, and will supplement the draft Work Plan on Enhancing ASEAN-China Cooperation Through Information And Media ‎‎‎2018-2020.-PNA