On the tenth year of the ASEAN Regional Forum, the ARF Ministers met in Phnom Penh on 18 June 2003 and declared that "despite the great diversity of its membership, the forum had attained a record of achievements that have contributed to the maintenance of peace, security and cooperation in the region." They cited in particular:

• The usefulness of the ARF as a venue for multilateral and bilateral dialogue and consultations and the establishment of effective principles for dialogue and cooperation, featuring decision-making by consensus, non-interference, incremental progress and moving at a pace comfortable to all;
  
• The willingness among ARF participants to discuss a wide range of security issues in a multilateral setting;
  
• The mutual confidence gradually built by cooperative activities;
  
• The cultivation of habits of dialogue and consultation on political and security issues;
  
• The transparency promoted by such ARF measures as the exchange of information relating to defense policy and the publication of defense white papers; and
  
• The networking developed among national security, defense and military officials of ARF participants.