[-] Neptium@hexbear.net 54 points 1 month ago

Global Times - ‘For the sake of Filipino nation, we should not take any side’: Philippine scholar at Beijing Xiangshan Forum

"We have been historically very friendly with each other for centuries long before the Western colonizers came. Let's go back to where we have been."

This was true for the entirety of Maritime Southeast Asia.

On the other hand, Tabunda suggested that relevant parties should "abandon the 'territorial perspective' on the South China Sea, and adopt a new one similar to China's concept of "pursuing joint development while shelving disputes."

Joint development has proved to be a robust way to ensure peace while negating Western imperialist meddling.

[-] Neptium@hexbear.net 48 points 2 months ago

Express Tribune - US itself pushing Asean closer to China

A peaceful, stable and resilient region is the lifeblood of ASEAN Community Vision 2025, which is built upon three pillars: Political-Security Community; Economic Community; and Socio-Cultural Community. To implement this vision, the bloc strives to maintain peace and stability, integrate markets and build a community with enhanced capacity and capability to respond effectively to challenges and seize opportunities.

China's Global Security Initiative (GSI) – underpinned by six commitments, including respecting territorial integrity of all countries; abiding by the principles of the UN Charter; and peacefully resolving differences through dialogue – is believed to challenge the US-led security. It fits well with ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation that embodies universal principles of peaceful coexistence and calls for mutual respect for sovereignty, non-interference and settlement of disputes peacefully.

There is another striking similarity between the GSI, which seeks to build partnerships based on mutual trust, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, and consolidate the political foundation for regional peace and ASEAN's vision that aspires to collaborate and cooperate with like-minded partners to promote stability in the region.

rest of the article

The South China Sea (SCS) is perhaps the only major source of friction between ASEAN and China, making the strategic waterways a regional flashpoint and shoving it to a great power competition between China and the US. But the Southeast Asian states do not want to drag themselves in such a situation where they have to choose between the two economic and military heavyweights.

Then there is the Declaration of Conduct on the SCS that stipulates all parties to resolve their disputes by peaceful means. However, it doesn't mean China and ASEAN should not expedite the process of completing the Code of Conduct, which is crucial to prevent the region from sliding into instability as evidenced by the recent Beijing-Manila stand-offs in the SCS.

This is also vital for China given ASEAN in 2021 agreed to elevate their relationship with China to comprehensive strategic partnership and looked to strengthen their ties. Year 2023 marked a milestone for the China-ASEAN relationship since nearly all leaders of the bloc had visited Beijing. During Chinese President Xi Jinping's trip to Vietnam, the leaders of the two countries announced establishing a strategic China-Vietnam community of "shared future", indicating a region-wide consensus to safeguard regional stability and boost trade.

ASEAN's approach is further reflected in its economic relations with China. According to the ASEAN Secretariat, trade between China and ASEAN since 2010 had doubled to $507.9 billion by 2019 and quadrupled since the entry into force of the China-ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement in 2005.

While China and ASEAN are strong supporters of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, this economic relationship has been bolstered by the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement, pushing bilateral trade per ASEAN statistics to $702 billion in 2023 and posting a robust 10.5% growth in H1-2024, according to Chinese data. China has been ASEAN's largest trading partner since 2009; and ASEAN has become China's for three consecutive years.

Unlike the US that practises selective engagement by prioritising countries often seen as strategically important in containing China, Beijing pursues a policy of peaceful coexistence, mutually beneficial cooperation and shared growth – something that is viewed in ASEAN as an effort to build a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future and enhance "regional peace, security and prosperity" including through upholding the principles of the UN and ASEAN Charter.

This affinity is also reflected in the people, academics and researchers of the ASEAN countries who consider China as an invaluable ally, thanks to their strong trade ties with Beijing, growing people-to-people exchanges and benefits brought about by the projects of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) such as the China-Laos Railway, Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway and Malaysia's East Coast Rail that promote regional integration and serve as a catalyst of growth for regional economies and domestic tourism and industry.

ASEAN is seeking a greater US role in the region but not at the cost of regional stability and its relations with China. While ASEAN Outlook of the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) strives to promote inclusiveness rather than rivalry in the region, the alliance is committed to reinforce their comprehensive strategic partnership with Beijing.

China is being helped by the US-led mini-lateral alliances such as: Squad, a refined version of Quad, leaving out India and signing on the Philippines alongside Australia, Japan and the US; the JAPHUS, a trilateral grouping of Japan, the Philippines and the US; and the AUKUS, an Australia-UK-US nuclear alliance. These all enfeeble the AOIP relevance by challenging its very principles.

What's more, the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025 envisages building a highly cohesive, integrated and resilient economy. In the coming years, these security architectures as well as the West's ambivalent attitude toward ASEAN, return of Donald Trump to the White House and labeling of China as "greatest strategic challenge" will likely widen the gap between ASEAN and the US, accelerating the trend of a robust ASEAN-China relationship.

Final paragraph which summarises it all quite nicely:

The bloc's view of China radically varies from the West, which interprets the BRI as an emblem of its expansion strategy. Most Southeast Asian nations don't see Beijing as expansionist or a military threat and aspire to benefit from the world's second largest economy. This fundamental asymmetry in the respective approaches will continue to dominate the regional geopolitics and, to the dislike of the US, will cement China's position as ASEAN's comprehensive strategic partner.

[-] Neptium@hexbear.net 53 points 2 months ago

Train gang stays winning

The Strait Times - New freight train service between Selangor and Yunnan set to spur Malaysia-China trade

VNExpress - Thailand develops dual rail tracks

Devdiscourse- Vietnam-China Railways: A New Era of Cooperation

The Star - Malaysia acquires 62 train sets through RM10.7bil [2.4 billion USD] leasing deal with China

[-] Neptium@hexbear.net 44 points 2 months ago

People’s Army Newspaper (Viet Nam) - ASEAN remains China’s biggest trading partner

ASEAN remained China's largest trade partner, with bilateral trade volume reaching CNY 3.92 trillion (USD 546.6 billion) in the first seven months, up 10.5% from a year ago, according to statistics by the Chinese General Administration of Customs (GAC).

Of the sum, China’s exports to ASEAN stood at CNY 2.36 trillion, up 13.7% year-on-year, the agency said.

China has been ASEAN's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years, while ASEAN has risen to become China's largest trade partner for four years in a row.

Last year, the two-year trade revenue accounted for 15.4% of China’s international trade value, and the number was 15.8% in the seven months.

Among the 10 ASEAN member countries, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia were China’s top trade partners, with turnover up 24.1%, 13.7%, and 4.1% respectively in the reviewed period.

[-] Neptium@hexbear.net 50 points 3 months ago

I will not post about Amerikkkan political theatre. I will not post. I will not post. I will not-

[-] Neptium@hexbear.net 50 points 4 months ago

Bloomberg: Singapore container ship logjam spills over to Malaysian port

(July 9): Container ship congestion in Singapore, one of Asia’s busiest ports, is spreading to neighbouring Malaysia, snarling supply chains and causing delays in the movement of consumer goods.

Around 20 container vessels are anchored in a cluster off Port Klang, on the western coast of Malaysia, near Kuala Lumpur. Both Klang and Singapore sit on the Straits of Malacca, a vital waterway that links Europe and the Middle East to East Asia.

The maritime logjam is being caused by ships avoiding the Suez Canal and Red Sea due to attacks by [Ansarallah], who support Hamas in the war with Israel. Many vessels heading towards Asia are opting to travel around the southern tip of Africa, meaning they’re not able to refuel or unload cargo in the Middle East.

Port Klang is an important terminal, given its proximity to Kuala Lumpur, but a queue of this magnitude is rare, with ship-tracking images showing many vessels unloading at its berths. Slots at Singapore and Tanjong Pelepas, a Malaysian port just across the border from the city-state, also appear to be full, but there are fewer ships waiting off those terminals.

Congestion at the shipping terminals could last through August, analysts have said. Container vessel rates have surged as a result of the delays and rerouting.

[-] Neptium@hexbear.net 50 points 5 months ago

The China Academy - China’s Modernization: Lost in Translation

“a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind” fails to convey its intended meaning in Chinese, according to Professor Li Xiguang, who has served at both the Washington Post and Xinhua News Agency. Li lamented that all emerging countries, including China, suffer from the constraints of translation on the power of their narratives.

One of the most important aspects for constructing the China’s narrative of Zhongguoshi Xiandaihua (中国式现代化) is the translation of its keys concepts. Current translations are not only inaccurate but also misleading for international readers. Here are some examples:

Zhongguoshi xiandaihua (中国式现代化) [lit. Chinese style modernization] : “a Chinese path to modernization”. The translation missed the keyword “Chinese style”.

Renlei wenming xinxingtai (人类文明新形态) [lit. Human civilization new form/state]: “a new form of human advancement”. The translation missed the word “civilization”.

Renlei mingyun gongtongti (人类命运共同体) [lit. Community of Human Destiny]: “community of shared future for mankind”. The addition of the word “shared” in the English translation suggests a perceived difficulty for countries or peoples of diverse backgrounds to jointly build a “community of human destiny”.

Why can’t Renlei mingyun gongtongti be translated as “a mankind community of different value systems”?

As rightfully pointed out by scholars such as Professor Ejaz Akram from Pakistan, Zhongguoshi xiandaihua is the first modernization attempt in human history that is not associated with the West. Since the West ushered in modernity, it has been promoting its own set of value standards, which is a product of its unique European historical setting, as the universal standards for all of humanity. The Western style of civilization is based on inequality rooted in dichotomies of Christians versus barbarians and “modern Western society” versus “traditional non-Western society”.

The Western-style civilization, in terms of the production and dissemination of knowledge, has regarded non-Western knowledge as alternative, ignorant and barbaric. Consequently, the West has been engaging in a thorough intellectual cleansing of non-Western knowledge as Western modernity swept across the world. Nowadays, China’s prestigious universities have to establish Guoxueyuan, or Schools of Traditional Chinese knowledge, to preserve traditional culture. This only shows how unpopular they are in Chinese universities. To the contrary, we never see Western universities establish any “school of traditional knowledge” because their current knowledge system is steeped in their values and their traditional knowledge.

When Chinese universities set up institutions such as Guoxueyuan, the implication is that since we now have a designated place for traditional knowledge, it should stay out of the way in other disciplines. As a result, humanities and social sciences such as communication, business, law, political science, etc. can comfortably copy disciplinary structures and standards of their Western counterparts.

Utilizing its extensive influence in the existing body of knowledge on modernity, the West deems itself the judge of civilizations, even casting judgement on the longstanding Chinese civilization. This mindset is embraced by China’s academia to the the extent that they think China’s modernization can only be legitimized if it fits into the Western discourse of modernity.

However, such approach is essentially an attempt to “reason” with the Western within their own linear logical framework, a system which the West holds the right of interpretation. The confinement of our own thoughts and language by Western narratives and ideas would ultimately render China’s position indefensible.

In this sense, key concepts in Chinese politics, including those stemming from its unique experience striving for modernization, should be translated within the context of China. For instance, the meaning of the Chinese term for human rights (人权 renquan) extends far beyond “right to vote” and “right to ballot”. Therefore, the best translation for the Chinese term should simply be its pinyin: renquan, highlighting the fundamental differences between Chinese and Western paths to realizing human rights. The same approach should also be applied when translating key concepts such as ziyou (freedom) and minzhu (democracy).

Phonetic translation of key Chinese concepts, instead of direct appropriation of the existing English words, enables China narratives rooted in its cultural roots, which will facilitate better communication of China’s original ideas on the world stage. It will not only promote the construction of China’s narratives, but also enrich the language and the body of knowledge for all humankind, capable of supporting the order of Renlei mingyun gongtongti.

[-] Neptium@hexbear.net 46 points 5 months ago

But he was deeply right wing

Define “deeply right wing”.

Did you know Iran has a public holiday celebrating the nationalization of their oil industry from UK/US imperialists?

Do you know that the Iranian constitution protects the welfare of it’s citizens and guarantees free healthcare and education?

and murdered communists during the Revolution.

Because communists can never make any major mistakes, could never host opportunists and collaborators, could never become divorced from the masses, especially in the Islamic world.

I implore people who perpetuate the perception that Iran as “deeply right wing” take this logic to it’s final conclusions - by that standard, which Islamic country is not “deeply right wing”?

May aswell sentence every Islamic country as backward rightwing shitholes. Since apparently the Iranian Revolution - one of the most progressive Islamic mass movements in modern history - is right wing.

We muslims, instead, need to listen to the Communists who could not even organise the members of their own book club, let alone the masses!

No dialectics, just aesthetics - with an inbuilt victim complex to boot.

(Note I realise after typing this comment it seems I am being very antagonistic to the OP in particular, but I am not. It’s just a trend and sentiment I noticed that permeates a lot of discourse surrounding Iran and communism in the Islamic world more generally that I feel like needs to be addressed. I hold no ill-will to OP or anyone in particular that has fallen into Western propaganda.)

[-] Neptium@hexbear.net 55 points 6 months ago

The Economist - In South-East Asia, the war in Gaza is roiling emotions

Far more than Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the war in Gaza is rattling public opinion in three key South-East Asian countries: Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. The first two have Muslim-majority populations, and Singapore, largely ethnic-Chinese, has a Muslim minority of 16%. As on campuses in America and in street protests in Europe, the sympathies among those who are concerned about the conflict—and who in Singapore include many young non-Muslims—are for Palestinians suffering from Israel’s heavy-handed prosecution of the war.

Strong feelings have thus made the war a political challenge in ways that are connected, but also vary from country to country. Malaysia’s prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, is by far the most strident leader in South-East Asia in support of the Palestinians. Mr Anwar has decried what he says was Western pressure to condemn Hamas, the hardline group ruling Gaza that started the war with a brutal raid on Israel.

While Palestine maintains an official embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Hamas can boast an unofficial one. Mr Anwar’s government has banned Israeli ships from docking. Politicians join rallies against the West’s backing of Israel.

Mr Anwar’s stance is no surprise. He has long espoused Palestinian independence. Malaysia itself has refused to recognise Israel. Meanwhile his chief challenge comes from PAS, an ultra-conservative Islamic group and the largest party in parliament. He cannot afford to let pas outflank him on religious issues, or he loses power.

comes from PAS, an ultra-conservative Islamic group

If PAS is ultra-conservative then every single Western political party is ultra-ultra-ultra-ultra-ultra-conservative.

For now Mr Anwar sees little downside in his pro-Palestinian, anti-American stance. His government, keen on Western investment, says it is open for business. Yet more stridency may make investors wonder. As it is, Malaysia’s religiously tolerant ethnic minorities are growing more uncomfortable with the increased religiosity that the Gaza war has helped feed.

The government has drank the neoliberal Kool-Aid of foreign investments, yes, but seemingly these Western companies continue to keep coming despite the geopolitical positions of the country.

These fake concern for investments acting like the West and particularly the US are their biggest investors when that is not even the case for majority of ASEAN anymore.

In Indonesia feelings also run high. Yet the rhetoric among political leaders is relatively restrained. True, the government of Joko Widodo has condemned Israel’s imminent offensive on Rafah, Hamas’s last stronghold. And, in a recent opinion piece for The Economist that was widely cheered back home, the president-elect, Prabowo Subianto, condemned the West for caring more about Ukrainians’ fate than Palestinians’. Yet that is tame stuff compared with Mr Anwar: unlike Malaysia’s denial of Israel, Mr Prabowo calls for talks and a two-state solution. What factors explain the difference? Indonesia’s ties with Israel are closer than the elites like to let on.

Malaysian official foreign policy stance is still the two-state solution, although that has been obviously not mentioned in the context of the Zionist Regime’s relentless assault against the Palestinian people.

They include purchases of Israeli tech and weaponry. Before the war, secret talks looked likely to establish ties between the two countries, starting with reciprocal trade offices. Although Mr Prabowo denies Islamists’ claims that he is chummy with Israel, he is in little danger of being outflanked by hardliners, having absorbed key Muslim political groupings in his coalition. Domestic considerations count.

This is mostly true and Israeli-Indonesian relations will be mostly off the books by most accounts.

Any public relations, including normalization, despite Western sources stating otherwise, is near impossible. It’s not as likely as they otherwise try to picture.

Squeezed between Indonesia and Malaysia, Singapore has close security ties with Israel—two small states encircled by danger. Yet Gaza greatly complicates the relationship, on account of domestic feeling. As Lawrence Wong, the incoming prime minister, told The Economist this week, even though the war in Ukraine carries economic consequences for Singapore, at an emotional level it resonates little.

encircled by danger

Yeah the two states are similar in their racism against Muslims, with their founders being White supremacists and having disdain of Islam and indigenous people. Surprisingly, they have close relations, I know.

By contrast, though Gaza has had negligible economic effect, it has had “a much higher level of resonance”, given the plight of Palestinians. The concern is that communal tensions might surface in ways that strain Singapore’s famed social and religious harmony. That, says the government, is why pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been banned. Christians, who are generally pro-Israel and account for 19% of the population, would demand their own protests, thereby bringing religious discord into the open. The government also fears that Malaysian stridency could cross the bridge that joins the two countries and foster extremism in Singapore.

communal tensions

A common phrase echoed by the Singaporean establishment to justify their continual interference and authoritarian measures of silencing dissent.

The racial undertones are also perfectly clear to those that aren’t blind. Who are the instigators in the picture they are trying to portray? With whom are they trying to gaud into being against?

This “surrounded by nefarious and scheming Muslims” rhetoric has been the hallmark of Singapore’s post independence psyche because it precisely justifies its own existence.

It is patently false since Malaysia has a larger Chinese population than Singapore’s total population. It ignores the fact that by declaring independence it put the Chinese in neighbouring Malaysia in jeopardy. This is why I say Singapore’s independence has been selfish. It was done to maintain the rule and capital accumulation of the colonial-era anglophone Singaporean bourgeoisie who would lose many of its privileges under a partnership with Malaysia.

This post-hoc justification is nothing but that, fluff that ironically, despite what they say, actually inflames racial and communal divisions more.

Bringing up the 19% Christian population is nothing but a diversionary tactic that ignores the realities of the mass support for Palestine. The Singaporean government simply doesn’t take the step forward because it would anger their monopoly-Capital overlords based in London and New York. It would challenge the long-standing justifications of their existence and bring about a truly progressive and international outlook that they truly despise.

The necessary response, Mr Wong says, is “to go out [and] explain to our people the positions that Singapore has taken”. That includes condemning Israel’s heavy hand, urging for a ceasefire and a two-state solution and providing aid to beleaguered Palestinians. Those steps are surely right in themselves. But in South-East Asia, when dealing with a distant war, never ignore factors that are close-to-hand.

Singapore’s position is closer to that of her European parents, which remains unsurprising as they have been colonised economically and spiritually. Singapore continues to contribute to the “accumulation of waste”, as coined by Ali Kadri, contributing to Israeli’s defense industry to defend against a mythical invasion from those dastardly Muslims.

[-] Neptium@hexbear.net 53 points 6 months ago

followup to my previous comment thread

Comparing Chinese versus Amerikan diplomacy

Sanctions imposed last year on four Malaysia-based companies accused of helping Iran’s production of drones have been impactful, a top US Treasury official said today.

Brian Nelson, the department’s under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, also said that the sanctions were still in place.

He said they were aimed at “encouraging behaviour change”, and that once the department saw such change, the companies involved would be struck off the list.

Nelson said sanctions would see money in US accounts or accounts with a US correspondent blocked or frozen, thereby preventing these companies from accessing funds.

“And it’s very disruptive to your ability to do business that is cross-border because it is very, very difficult to avoid a touch point with the US financial system,” he said in an interview with several media outlets.

Nelson said that sanctions were a powerful tool, and that the department had found them effective in the context of disrupting activities meant to drive profit or provide capital.

MODS!!!!? DISRUPTING THE FREE MARKET?? MARKET DISTORTING PRACTICE??? MOOOODS!!

“From that perspective, we think, of course, that they are impactful.

“But I think the more impactful thing at the end of the day is the partnership with jurisdictions and the capacity to make anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism ‘regimes’ more resilient.”

…Washington recently imposed further sanctions targeting Iran, including over Iranian drones used by Russia in the war in Ukraine, as the US seeks to increase pressure on Tehran after its attack on Israel.

Nelson is in Malaysia to advance the Treasury’s work in countering terrorist financing and revenue generation for Iran and its proxies.

but Malaysia does not recognise Hamas or Iran as terrorist organizations?

It’s literally the wall-talk meme

Reuters previously reported that there had been an uptick in money moving to Iran and its proxies, including Hamas, through the Malaysian financial system.

Malaysian Islamic Finance helping the mujahideen fight against their oppressors. Mashallah.

He is also in the country to discuss ways to disrupt Russia’s ability to sustain its war in Ukraine.

wall-talk

Malaysia has conveyed to the US that Kuala Lumpur does not recognize sanctions imposed by individual nations, a minister said Thursday.

The US talking about sanctions: wall-talk

“I emphasized that we will only recognize sanctions if they are imposed by the United Nations Security Council,” the Southeast Asian nation’s Interior Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said.

“The delegation from the US respected our stance,” said the minister.

wall-talk

Saifuddin added that Kuala Lumpur was committed to combating terrorism financing with a “clear strategic plan in place to tackle illicit funding and money laundering.”

However, Saifuddin said Malaysia’s policies and strategies “comply with international standards.”

Washington also said Iran's capacity to move its oil was due to service providers based in Malaysia.

The minister, however, said his meeting with Nelson was “productive” and that Malaysia was “always open to engaging with the US.”

Productive = nothing happened

“always open to engaging” or Amerika will conduct financial warfare to crash the economy again

Compare this to how Chinese and Malaysian officials speak to eachother

Xinhua - Strength of China-Malaysia ties built on common values: Malaysian official

"In partnership with China, Malaysia is leading the way in promoting renewable energy. Both countries are heavily investing in clean technologies including solar, wind, and hydroelectric power. Our joint efforts aim to lead the global transition to sustainable energy," he said.

"Our relations have grown from strength to strength over these past 50 years in not just covering diplomatic and political ties but also business partnerships, tourism, education and cultural ties and exchanges," he said.

…For his part, Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Ouyang Yujing said the comprehensive and practical cooperation is the essential driving force upgrading China-Malaysia relations in all fields.

"China is now focusing on developing new quality productive forces which will provide Malaysia more cooperation opportunities in the fields of artificial intelligence, big data, digital economy, green development, new energy vehicles and other newly emerging industries. Fruits from the above cooperation will surely bring benefits to both peoples in a profound way," he said.

I wonder which country is a 5000 year old literary civilization and which one is a deformed culture-less genocidal state. thinkin-lenin

[-] Neptium@hexbear.net 47 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

SEA Headlines

VietnamPlus - Vietnam secures remarkable economic successes since national reunification

Bernama - ASEAN FOUNDATION COLLABORATES WITH HUAWEI TO HARNESS DIGITAL POTENTIAL

The Manila Times - China-Asean interpersonal exchanges pushed

The Bangkok Post - Asean centrality in a changing world

full article

things to different people, but broadly, it can be seen as a regional framework that supports Asean's role as the dominant regional platform to overcome common challenges and engage with external powers.

For citizens of the Asean community, they know its intrinsic value as it has kept the region stable and resilient throughout its more than five decades of existence.

In a fast-changing world, questions are frequently asked about whether the Asean centrality concept should be redefined. Indeed, the concept of Asean centrality was one of the major issues that Asean leaders discussed in the bloc's latest meeting in Hanoi last week.

The discussion on Asean centrality is lively and stimulates questions and even cynicism. At a lunch retreat, Vietnamese scholar Nguyen Hung Son, vice president of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, gave a good account of the evolution of Asean centrality. He said back in the 1980s, when the concept of Asean centrality did not exist, the region was depicted as "flying geese", meaning that member states, such as Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, had the potential to develop quickly.

In the following decade, Asean was perceived as a "driver" for regional cooperation. Questions were raised about whether it was just a driver and whether the passengers (member states) were setting the direction. No matter what the answer was, Asean would go on to assume that it was in the driver's seat, which helped to drive regional processes. Complaints were also made about there being too many hands on the wheel. As Mr Son observed, when Asean entered the 21st century, the bloc turned itself into a "central hub"--akin to an airport able to provide navigation and protection services. But when it came to regional issues that required the bloc's reactions or action, Asean was seen as a "talk shop" or the "Nato" (no action, talk only) of Asia.

Today, Asean centrality is recognised for its part in driving high economic growth in the region. But what form will Asean centrality take over the next 20 years?

Asean is currently wrapping up its new Asean Vision 2045, which envisages a bloc that is future-ready, future-proof, nimble, and agile. In the not-too-distant future, it is projected that the Asean region will become the world's third-most populous region and fourth-largest economy, with a fast-growing middle class that will outweigh the ageing population. Moreover, given its diversity and good connectivity, the region will become an innovative society.

Mr Son said he believes that Asean should be bolder in the future. It should become the leading "goose" of growth, a pioneer in green transformation, digital connection and innovative economics. Asean also can be an example of turning contestation and confrontation in the South China Sea into cooperation and connectivity.

In addition, Asean can serve as an example of how to successfully address multiple crises, such as climate change and water and food security in the Mekong region, thus providing solutions to other regions.

On centrality, Mr Son concluded with a proviso that the concept must not make the bloc complacent; Asean, after all, must not shy away from attempting to lead and shape in future.

In retrospect, similar observations were made in 1977 when Asean opened up for dialogue, market access, and assistance with foreign partners. At that time, Asean officials were only concerned about locations and setting agendas. They insisted all meetings be held in an Asean capital and all agendas fixed by the rotational chair and its members. Back then, the Asean centrality concept was merely a procedural affair.

Subsequent economic cooperation and engagement with the dialogue partners increased the bloc's confidence that its agenda should be further discussed and shared with others. From the 1990s onwards, the bloc has increased Asean-led mechanisms that take in dialogue partners on cooperation on matters related to political/security, economic, social/cultural, and development. At the 9th East Asia Summit in Nay Pyi Taw in 2014, its key agendas were initiated by the US, especially on global health issues and epidemic disease (Ebola).

Because Asean aims to be the main driving force in the region and prevent any hegemony from outside, active engagement from dialogue partners such as the Asean Regional Forum, the East Asia Summit, and the Asean Defence Ministerial Meeting is a must. Luckily, Asean is not a military grouping; it only promotes peace-making and peace-keeping. It has never weaponised conflicts, near or far. Today, Asean centrality has already gained traction as the great powers, particularly the US, China and EU, continue to woo Asean.

During the first special Asean-US summit in California in February 2016, the Obama administration, for the first time, openly supported the Asean centrality and Asean-led mechanism in the evolving regional architecture. Other dialogue partners such as China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand have long accepted Asean centrality as a pivotal tool for forging closer cooperation and partnership between the bloc and dialogue partners.

To make Asean centrality sustainable and relevant, its members' governments and their lawmakers must show goodwill and implement all Asean agreements and policies in a way that only promotes the bloc's centrality.

Meanwhile, younger generations also need to be exposed to Asean affairs in a more holistic way, not fragmented as it is currently. For instance, the region's school children should be able to sing the Asean Way, the bloc's anthem. Activities and programmes promoting the Asean identity and strengthening the sense of belonging should be encouraged.

With its convening and convincing power, Asean centrality 2.0 can go global and create a milestone, especially the efforts to build a better and peaceful world.

Taking advantage of the current situation, with the ongoing desire of the US-China to improve their strained relationship, Asean could provide a neutral venue for them or, for that matter, any conflicting parties to exchange views and mend their relationship because the bloc does not take sides.

The Conversation - Long before politicians called to ‘stop the boats’, First Nations people welcomed arrivals from Indonesia

Antara News - RI, Malaysia propose ASEAN-GCC collaboration for new economic power

[-] Neptium@hexbear.net 45 points 6 months ago

SEA Headlines

Reuters - Malaysia plans Southeast Asia's largest integrated circuit design park

Let’s see if the government’s plans for “re-industrialization” pans out.

VNA - India’s trade deficit with ASEAN widens

Bloomberg - Why Indonesia Is China’s New Best Friend in Southeast Asia

VNA - Vietnamese, Chinese localities enhance cooperation

The Nation - New Chinese EV manufacturer Chery to invest in Thailland

Chery is the 8th EV maker from China to be approved following BYD, MG, Great Wall Motor, Changan Automobile, GAC Aion, NETA and Foton, Narit Therdsteerasukdi, BOI secretary-general, said on Monday.

The company, which exported 1.8 million units last year, aims to use Thailand as a production base to meet the domestic demand for right-hand drive EVs, as well as export the vehices to ASEAN, Australia and the Middle East.

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Neptium

joined 2 years ago