Asian countries, led by economic powerhouses China and Japan have set the target of establishing an expanded regional emergency fund next year to better shield the region from the impact of the global financial crisis.
The target was set on November 20 at a one-day meeting in the Philippines of senior finance officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their counterparts from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK), according to news reports.
Participants at the meeting discussed the details of the scheme, which will be finalised by their heads of state during an annual summit in Thailand next month.
The scheme calls for allowing all ASEAN countries, along with China, Japan and the RoK, to access emergency funds under the so-called Chiang Mai Initiative - an arrangement forged by Asian nations after the 1997 financial crisis - to address foreign reserve deficits through bilateral currency swaps.
During the meeting, financial officials from the Philippines and Thailand also proposed a separate Asian regional facility that could be tapped by any country to help tackle short-term liquidity problems.
Apart from the establishment of a rapidly-disbursing regional emergency fund, Asian nations should work together to establish a surveillance system to detect signs of any emerging problems instigated by the global crisis, Philippine Finance Secretary Margarito Teves was quoted as saying on the sidelines of the meeting.