United States accedes to ASEAN Amity Treaty as sole executive agreement.

• Author: Crook, John R.

In July 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (1) on behalf of the United States as a sole executive agreement, binding immediately without Senate advice and consent to accession.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations Treaty is a broadly worded and essentially political document, including general undertakings to "promote perpetual peace, everlasting amity and cooperation among ... peoples which would contribute to their strength, solidarity and closer relationship." (2) The parties commit themselves to principles such as respect for sovereignty and equality; (3) to strengthen amity and encourage human contacts; (4) to cooperate and consult in various fields; (5) and to settle disputes peacefully. (6) The Treaty's provisions are typical of those often found in political declarations issued during state visits. The U.S. accession was intended to demonstrate a strengthened U.S. commitment to cooperation with the countries of Southeast Asia. (7)

According to a letter from U.S. Senate leaders (below), the United States reserved to Article 10 of the Treaty, by which the parties agree that they shall not "in any manner or form participate in any activity which shall constitute a threat to the political and economic stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of another High Contracting Party." The U.S. reservation provides that this article "does not limit actions taken by the United States that it considers necessary to address a threat to its national interests."

The generality of the Treaty's provisions and the lack of specific obligations led the Senate leadership to conclude that it would not object to the conclusion of the agreement based solely on the foreign relations powers of the executive branch. A joint letter from the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with the committee's ranking Republican member and the Senate's Republican leader, indicated that the Senate would normally regard the use of the word "treaty" in the title of an instrument as indicating that Senate consideration was required. However, the leaders would not object in this case because of the limited nature of the commitments involved, noting in this regard the U.S. reservation to Article 10. The three senators' letter to Secretary Clinton follows.

We write to you regarding the proposed U.S. accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC). We believe...