ON Thursday, it was reported that the Philippines had joined four other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member countries — Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand — in an agreement to share aviation safety data, which was hailed in a joint statement by the signatories as 'a first-of-its kind initiative in the Asia-Pacific.' As Southeast Asia is the world's fastest-growing air transport market, this would seem to be a progressive and relevant bit of cooperation. However, the terms of the agreement as described in the information made public so far raise questions about the usefulness of the pact.

The agreement was announced at the 59th Directors General of Civil Aviation Conference, which was held on October 14-18 in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu. The data-sharing plan was originally proposed at the previous (58th) conference last year, but negotiation of the details took several months. The joint statement by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and its counterpart agencies said that the plan should be implemented by the end of the year.