ASEAN chair Widodo wants bloc to be more assertive
PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should be more responsive and take decisive actions in the face of more challenging geopolitical and geo-economic issues.
The President issued the call in Indonesia as he addressed the ASEAN Leaders’ Interface with the High-Level Task Force on the ASEAN Community’s post-2025 vision (HLTF-ACV) at the Meruorah Convention Center in Labuan Bajo.
“The ASEAN of today must be better than the ASEAN of yesterday. For ASEAN to succeed, ASEAN must be the master of its future. The work of the High-Level Task Force requires sober deliberation of the potentials and the possibilities of the evolving regional and global architecture. It is imperative that we be decisive, it is imperative that we be responsive,” Marcos said.
He said ASEAN must also show the world that it is able to “respond effectively to geopolitical and geo-economic challenges as a cohesive (force).”
He said ASEAN must also actively reinforce a global order that is anchored in international law.
“Today, ASEAN faces a complex geopolitical environment which includes rivalries amongst great powers, climate change, and technological disruptions, amongst others. ASEAN itself is not immune to its own challenges, as we continue to navigate our differences in the region towards a general consensus of action. ASEAN has to be agile as the regional bloc has to adapt to the diverse meaningful interventions needed for the complex challenges of the times,” he added.
The President said ASEAN must also balance agility with stability and inclusivity.
“Regionalism should mirror our collective interests, for our strength relies on our united voice,” added Marcos, who was joined by Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, Ambassador Elizabeth Buensuceso who is serving as the Philippines’ Eminent Person to the Task Force, and Ambassador Luis Cruz who is the High-Level Representative to the task force.
Marcos made the call amid recent developments in the world such as the rising tension in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea and the continued conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the current ASEAN chair, earlier called for the bloc to speak up as one about the challenges it faces in the region.
“Will ASEAN only be silent or will ASEAN be able to become the driver or peace or growth?” he said.
ASEAN, which has a policy of non-interference in its members affairs, has become increasingly assertive with Myanmar’s junta over its failure to implement a five-point peace “consensus” that its top general agreed to with ASEAN a few months after his coup sparked chaos.
“Malaysia is disappointed that there continues to be a lack of meaningful and real progress in the implementation of the 5PC,” Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on the sidelines of the summit.
Myanmar’s junta leaders are currently barred from attending high-level meetings until they execute the peace plan, which includes ceasing hostilities.
Indonesia has been quietly engaging Myanmar’s military, its shadow government and armed ethnic groups to try to kick-start peace talks, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said last week.
“ASEAN is doing as much as it can really because when you are there on the ground it’s not that easy,” said Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo.
But some have called on ASEAN to take a harder line.
“To leave the seat empty at ASEAN summits is actually their comfort zone, they don’t have to be held accountable,” said former Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa.
“Excluding the junta is only part of a series of steps that should be taken.”
The ASEAN leaders, in a statement, condemned the recent attack on a convoy of the AHA Center and ASEAN Monitoring Team in Myanmar.
The regional bloc also expressed deep concerns for the ongoing violence in Myanmar.
“(We) urged the immediate cessation of all forms of violence and the use of force to create a conducive environment for the safe and timely delivery of humanitarian assistance and inclusive national dialogues,” it said adding that it also supports the statement of Indonesia, as the Chair of ASEAN, in response to the recent attack.
“We condemned the attack and underlined that the perpetrators must be held accountable.
We supported the efforts of the Chair of ASEAN, including its continued engagements with all stakeholders in Myanmar, to encourage progress in the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus,” the statement added.
ASEAN leaders on Wednesday issued a series of joint declarations, including joint commitments to combat human trafficking, protect migrant workers and support the electric vehicle industry across the region.
CODE OF CONDUCT
On the eve of the ASEAN Summit, the President said he would urge his fellow Southeast Asian leaders to push for the finalization of Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea (SCS) to ease tension in the contested waters.
Marcos said having a binding COC will reduce the possibility of miscalculations, hoping the regional bloc would be able to address issues hindering the conclusion of negotiations, which is a key element in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) centrality.
“Solution of all of these problems is really the new Code of Conduct. That’s why I repeatedly say that, in every forum I can find, I always say that Code of Conduct is needed to end this),” he said in mixed Filipino and English.
During the ASEAN Summit last year, the President also pushed for the early conclusion of a COC in the South China Sea based on international law, which he said should be an example of how states manage their differences.
HUMAN SECURITY
Marcos, during the ASEAN Leaders’ Interface with the Representatives of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-ABAC), said the regional bloc should ensure food self-sufficiency and security in the region through innovative solutions to attain overall human security.
Marcos said at the heart of ASEAN’s economic growth and hard-earned peace and stability is human security.
He called on ASEAN to take the lead in shaping the regional and global economy by staying “united, together, and stronger” in determining its economic agenda now and in the future.
He reiterated that the Philippines fully recognizes the importance of private sector involvement as the main engine of ASEAN’s economic activity, especially in the delicate logistics chain of goods and services across the region.
The President also said that ASEAN nations can adopt new technologies including smart agriculture and food systems to help achieve food sufficiency and security as well as continue efforts to keep up with the rapid digital regional transformation.
“In a region with citizens who are enthusiastic adopters of digital solutions that are reshaping the way our countries do business, we must capitalize on such assets as e-commerce and digitalization to advance the trade agenda, enhance cross-border trade, and foster economic integration,” Marcos said.
YOUTH, DIGITALIZATION
About 60 youth representatives from ASEAN member states and Timor-Leste yesterday recommended making digital development equitable and inclusive in Southeast Asia towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The youth leaders made the suggestion during the ASEAN leader’s interface with the youth where policy recommendations gathered during the ASEAN Youth Dialogue (AYD) 2023 on Digital Development for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were presented.
Sultan Kudarat Gov. Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu, Tiffany Templonuevo of the University of Sto. Tomas and Jericho Emphasis of the University of Mindanao represented the county in the event.
The President recognized the youth’s initiative including their contributions to addressing climate change and promoting disaster resiliency.
At the ASEAN Leaders’ Interface with Representatives of ASEAN Youth, Marcos said Filipino youths are at the forefront of advocacies to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate in the Philippines which should be replicated throughout all of ASEAN.
He said one of the initiatives is leading the declaration of the annual ASEAN Youth in Climate Action and Disaster Resilience Day, on November 25, to promote awareness and provoke positive action among the youth to address climate change and galvanize disaster risk reduction efforts.
He said Southeast Asia will remain the “epicentrum of growth” if it continues to empower its young people especially since the region’s future lies in its ability to develop its young population.
TRAFFICKING
Marcos said among the main concerns of the ASEAN members is the increasing misuse of innovative technological applications to facilitate trafficking in persons – a multidimensional issue that needs concerted cooperation between the legislative and executive bodies in order to be resolved.
In their joint statement, the ASEAN leaders called for a cohesive and immediate ASEAN response in addressing current and future threats arising from the abuse of technology and take full advantage of new and evolving technologies to enhance this effort; called for the strengthening of regional efforts to identify trafficked or potential victims, including through technology-based methods to prevent their criminalization and detention, as well as to encourage the development of recommended identification guidelines at the national level.
They called for stronger cooperation and coordination against trafficking in persons (TIP) caused by abuse of technology through various regional mechanisms and ASEAN initiatives, including enhancing each State’s law enforcement’s and relevant agencies’ capacity to investigate, collect data and evidence, identify victims, detect, disrupt, and prosecute the crime, among others.
ENERGY, CLIMATE CHANGE
During various discussions, Marcos raised the need for ASEAN to transition to renewable and alternative energy technologies, stressing the Philippines is doing its part in that regard.
Marcos said while developing countries such as the Philippines account for less than 1 percent of global emissions, “our countries bear the brunt of the devastating impacts of climate change.”
He reiterated his call for unity among ASEAN members as he urged developed countries to fulfill their longstanding commitments to the Paris Agreement.
The President said the Philippines has also started to take bold steps to transition to renewable and alternative energy technologies in a secure and sustainable manner.
Marcos said the Philippines, which is rich in critical metals like aluminum, nickel and chromite, urged the ASEAN members to enhance regional cooperation towards boosting the region’s strategic industrial metals and minerals value chain to ensure a cleaner energy future.
The minerals industry value-chain represents the stages and processes that a minerals project goes through to produce mineral products, with each stage representing a value-add on the previous.
PRODUCTIVE ELDERS
The President, also in various events, raised concerns over the ageing population in Southeast Asia.
“Decades of sustained economic growth and prosperity has resulted in longer life spans in ASEAN. According to the Asian Development Bank, one out of four people in the Asia Pacific will be over the age of 60 by the year 2050. I think therefore it is time that ASEAN should start discussing the concerns of an ageing population, consistent with the ASEAN tradition of valuing our elders,” Marcos said.
He said the “ageing” issues must be viewed as an opportunity and as a challenge, “especially in terms of adequate social benefits on the one hand and social empowerment on the other. ASEAN goals and work plans should ensure health for our elders, a safe and dignified, and productive life.”
The President will be in Indonesia until today.
On the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit, the President and Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphadone agreed to strengthen cooperation between their countries in various fields including health, education, tourism, trade and people-to-people exchange agreements.
“We have 2,000 more or less Filipino nationals who are living in Lao and working in Lao PDR and we are very proud of the contributions that they have made, especially in the educational sector,” Marcos said adding that apart from education, the two countries can also cooperate on tourism and build on professional exchanges .
Siphadone on behalf of their President Thongloun Sisoulith, invited Marcos for a state visit to Lao and in return, Marcos extended an invitation to the Prime Minister and his President to visit the Philippines. — With Reuters
