Friday, May 30, 2008 Asean transport officials push liberalization of air services
SENIOR transport officials recommended that Asean members sign a deal that will lead to the full liberalization of freight and other air services.
The region’s transport leaders will discuss it during the 14th Asean Transport Ministers’ (ATM) meeting in November 2008 in Manila, in time for the implementation of the regional integrated air transport services by December.
During their meeting in Mactan, senior transport officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) signed yesterday a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on “cooperation relating to aircraft accident and incident investigation.”
It was during their plenary sessions that the transport leaders also recommended the signing of the Asean Multilateral Air Services Agreement.
Restrictions
This will lead to the gradual removal of restrictions for greater flexibility and capacity in air freight services in the region, said Undersecretary Annelie Lontoc of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), the host of the meeting.
The agreement, Lontoc added, will also contribute to the creation of a transport network linking the 10 member-states, which seek to build a unified aviation market by 2015.
Asean has come under fire recently for its slow response to the Myanmar cyclone and surging rice prices.
Chief Justice Reynato Puno said the 10-member Asean’s policy of deciding by consensus has hobbled it in responding rapidly to crises, including the May 2-3 Cyclone Nargis that killed 78,000 people and left 56,000 missing in military-ruled Myanmar.
“The disaster has become an aid crisis that exposes the impotence of the Asean in assisting a member-country knocked down on its knees,” Puno told an Asean conference in Manila attended by academics and diplomats.
No mechanism
Asean failed to rapidly act in the crucial first few days after the cyclone because of the lack of an effective regional mechanism to deal with such contingencies, Puno said.
The association has long been hamstrung by a rule of noninterference in each other’s affairs and a policy of making decisions by consensus. It has particularly been criticized for failing to nudge member Myanmar to move toward democracy, release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest and improve its human rights record.
The MOU that the Asean transport officials signed yesterday aims to enhance the professionalism of aircraft investigators in the region and strengthen cooperation to enhance aviation safety.
The signatories are: HJ Alaihuddin Taha of Brunei, Chea Aun of Cambodia, Tatang Kurniadi of Indonesia, Yakua Lopangkao of Laos, Abdullah Yusuff Basiron of Malaysia, Winn Pe of Myanmar, Doroteo A. Reyes II of the Philippines, Lim Boon Wee of Singapore, Chalor Kotcharat of Thailand and Luu Thanh Binh of Vietnam.
Standards
Under the MOU, Asean member-countries pledge to cooperate in aircraft accident investigations, training and the sharing of information and expertise, consistent with the standards contained in the Convention of International Civil Aviation in Chicago.
The Chicago Convention provides that investigations of aircraft accidents should focus on the prevention of such mishaps, not to apportion blame or to determine guilt.
Among the provisions of the MOU signed yesterday is the commitment to offer assistance and the use of air safety investigation, manpower, facilities and equipment to other member-countries. This may include expertise in the fields of air traffic services, engineering, operations flight recorders, human performance and management. (EOB/With AP)
