ASEAN fosters and maintains friendly and mutually beneficial relations with external parties to ensure that the peoples and Member States of ASEAN live in peace with the world at large in a just, democratic and harmonious environment. ASEAN remains outward-looking and plays a pivotal role in the regional and international form to advance ASEAN’s common interests. Through its external relations, ASEAN will exercise and maintain its centrality and proactive role as the primary driving force in an open, transparent and inclusive regional architecture to support the establishment of the ASEAN Community by 2015.