President Joko Widodo (right) listens to the disclosure of US Vice President Mike Pence at the 6th ASEAN-US summit at Suntec Convention Centre, Singapore, Thursday (15/11/2018).
SINGAPORE, KOMPAS – Amid the tug-of-war of interests between major world powers, state leaders of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) have reaffirmed the importance of the association’s unity and centrality. In a joint statement at the end of the 33rd ASEAN Summit in Singapore on Thursday (15/11/2018), the state leaders said that the principles of centrality and solidarity were important to enhance ASEAN’s sense of community, relevance and active engagement with partner countries.
Furthermore, regionalism and multilateralism were the main bases of building international cooperation. The closing of the conference was marked by the symbolic handover of ASEAN’s chairmanship from Singapore to Thailand as Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loon passed the ASEAN gavel to Thai PM Prayuth Chan-ocha.
Centrality
Amid the current developments in global geopolitics, including the rise of protectionism that has led to a trade war, ASEAN state leaders reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining a regional architecture based on the principles of openness, transparency and inclusivity. This commitment has been strengthened by various ASEAN mechanisms, including the ASEAN Plus One, the ASEAN Plus Three (APT), the East Asia Summit (EAS), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus).
“We reaffirm our belief that regionalism and multilateralism are important principles within the framework of cooperation, and that our strength and values lie in our inclusivity, based on rules and emphasis on mutual benefit and respect,” Lee said.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo also stressed the importance of ASEAN’s centrality on several occasions during the summit. He said that the Indo-Pacific concept aimed to strengthen ASEAN’s centrality. “Indonesia also consults with partner countries. I wish to convey my appreciation towards ASEAN partners’ support that emphasizes ASEAN’s centrality, including in the development of the Indo-Pacific concept,” the President said.
The President urged all state leaders during the EAS Summit to hold more open discussions on the concept. The President said that all forms of international cooperation – rather than rivalries – should be based on values of inclusivity, transparence, openness and respect for international law.
Pelita Harapan University political science professor Aleksius Jemadu said that the joint statement by ASEAN state leaders was reasonable. As a regional association, ASEAN had the power to unite diverse powers in a single forum.
“All parties have interests in regional stability and all parties can benefit economically [from it]. Whether you want to acknowledge it or not, the EAS [and other ASEAN initiatives] are a collective forum in which various interests meet,” said Jemadu, adding that major world powers with their tendency to dictate to other countries would have a hard time achieving what ASEAN had.
On the other hand, the public needed to be aware that ASEAN’s reach might be limited to fostering dialog. Jemadu said it would be hard for ASEAN to produce binding resolutions. “Major world powers such as China and the US will not want to be dictated by moderate powers,” he said. (JOS)
