Anti-dirty money deal seen in EAS leaders meet

Senior officials from the East Asian region and adjoining countries are considering several documents, including those related to anti-money laundering and countering financing terrorism, which will be issued in November for the Philippines during the East Asia Summit (EAS). 

This was bared by Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Affairs Ma. Helen Barber-de la Vega, acting Philippine EAS Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) leader.

“There have been a perception that the terrorists’ money are coursed through remittance channels, so they have to look at it; how the countries in the region can cooperate, so that these monies do not end up in terrorist hands,” she said.

Barber-de la Vega identified other proposed outcome documents, including on poverty alleviation, chemical weapons, and marine plastic debris.

“These are just proposals and we don’t how it would shape in terms of a statement or declaration,” she said. “We still need time to work on these and I hope that by August, we will be able finalize some of these matters.”

SOM of the East Asia Summit converged in Manila on May 23 to prepare for the 7th EAS Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM) on August 7 and the 12th EAS on November 14.

The EAS SOM, which was chaired by Barber-de la Vega, was attended by the senior officials from all 10 Asean members (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, and the United States.

She said EAS SOM discussed strategic issues, particularly the Korean peninsula issue, developments in the South China Sea, and addressing terrorism and countering violent extremism.

The EAS is a forum for dialogue on broad strategic, political and economic issues of common interest and concern with the aim of promoting peace, stability and economic prosperity in East Asia.

Its priority areas of cooperation are energy, education, finance, global health issues including pandemic diseases, environment and disaster management and connectivity.