CEBU, Philippines, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- A high-level task-force will take over from the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) the drawing up of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Charter, a senior ASEAN diplomat said here Thursday.

    Sic Lecaros, spokesperson of the 12th ASEAN Summit, told a press conference here Thursday that the ASEAN Charter will try to endorse a mechanism on how to reach a resolution without consensus among the regional conclave.

    However, such a charter will not be completed during the 12th ASEAN Summit and will be left for ASEAN leaders to finalize in future ASEAN summits.

    Were the mechanism on how to reach a resolution without consensus finally adopted, it would be a major change of the 10-member ASEAN's principles since the regional bloc has existed for 40 years through a consensus among the member-country leaders.

    ASEAN diplomats said the establishment of such a mechanism is necessary since it was harder to arrive at a consensus when ASEAN's membership grew to 10 currently and might possibly further expand to a larger number.

    The regional grouping has already appointed the region's elder statesmen, or the EPG, to draw up the parameters.

    Though the Charter will not be finalized during the 12th ASEAN Summit, Lecaros said the host Philippines should be proud of the fact that "it all started here."

    "There was no draft or framework a year ago," he said. "The EPG was thus mandated to lay down the ground rules for the charter."