The government spokesperson revealed that today's Cabinet meeting approved five draft documents for the 48th ASEAN Summit, emphasizing amendments to the charter and united efforts to tackle global crises. They stressed these documents are vital tools to advance Thailand's interests in the ASEAN arena.
Today (5 May 2026) GMT+7 Ms. Ratchada Thanadirek, the spokesperson for the Office of the Prime Minister, disclosed that the Cabinet resolved to approve the draft outcome documents to be endorsed at the 48th ASEAN Summit, scheduled to take place in Cebu City, Republic of the Philippines, on 8 May 2026, totaling five documents. These include one draft document that ASEAN leaders will agree upon and four draft documents that ASEAN leaders will jointly endorse, as follows:
1. The single draft document that ASEAN leaders will agree upon is: the Cebu Protocol to Amend the Charter of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which adds the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste as an ASEAN member and revises the ASEAN flag and emblem by increasing the number of rice stalks and emblem elements to 11, matching the number of ASEAN member countries.
2. The four draft documents that ASEAN leaders will jointly endorse are:
(1) the ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on Maritime Cooperation, aimed at promoting maritime security, maritime economy, and marine environment protection.
(2) the ASEAN Leaders' Statement on Priority Actions for Regional Resilience in Response to the Implications of the Situation in the Middle East on the Region, intended to integrate cooperation under ASEAN's three community pillars, strengthen, and prepare ASEAN to respond to impacts from the Middle East situation and other crises.
(3) the ASEAN Leaders' Statement on the ASEAN Convergence on Disaster Response: The ASEAN Strategic Protocol for Emergency and Comprehensive Transformation (ASPECT) Framework, designed to enhance cooperation for prompt and effective responses to natural disasters, climate change, biological threats, and other hazards.
(4) The ASEAN Declaration on the Empowerment of Youth in Climate Action and Disaster Resilience, which promotes youth leadership and participation in climate risk management and disaster resilience at community, national, and regional levels.
The Cabinet also approved authorizing the Prime Minister or a designated representative to agree to and endorse these draft documents. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will prepare the instruments of ratification and submit them to the ASEAN Secretary-General as the depositary after these documents receive consensus approval at the ASEAN Summit.
“These five draft documents will serve as important tools to promote Thailand's interests within ASEAN, such as strengthening energy and food security, encouraging intra-ASEAN trade and investment, enhancing maritime security, and addressing natural disasters and climate change,” the spokesperson said.