SINGAPORE: Three more countries have ratified the ASEAN Charter, bringing the total number to four.

ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan received the instruments of ratification from Laos and Malaysia on Wednesday during a special ceremony on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat in Singapore.

Dr Surin reported that Brunei deposited its instrument of ratification on 15 February.

He hopes that this momentum will continue so that the ASEAN Charter can be ratified by all ten members during their annual meeting in Bangkok in December.

Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo said the task at hand is to get all ten countries to ratify the Charter so it can be implemented.

He is optimistic that this can be done even though the Philippines has said it will only ratify the Charter if Myanmar releases Aung San Suu Kyi.

"When we say the Philippines, we are referring to the Philippines' Congress, the House and the Senate. There is a public position. But I believe the debate continues... I would say the sentiment among the foreign ministers is one of quiet confidence. In the end it's in our national interest and in our collective interest to ratify the charter," said Mr Yeo.

The ASEAN Charter, aimed at making the regional grouping a more rules-based organisation, was signed by the grouping's leaders at the summit in Singapore last November.

Singapore was the first country to ratify the charter. - CNA/ac