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Food, energy, economic resilience key to ASEAN security, says Indonesia
ASEAN must play a central role and be prepared to mitigate various security threats posed by geopolitical challenges, Indonesia said during talks in Hanoi where hundreds of diplomats and experts convened to discuss the group's future.
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Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi delivers a speech at the 2024 ASEAN Future Forum in Hanoi on April 23, 2024. (Courtesy of Foreign Affairs Ministry/-)
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SEAN must play a central role and be prepared to mitigate various security threats posed by geopolitical challenges, Indonesia said during talks in Hanoi where hundreds of diplomats and experts convened to discuss the bloc's future.
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said that traditional security threats aside, the region's food, energy, economic and cyber security were also under threat. She called for cooperation among ASEAN countries in these sectors.
Vietnam hosted the ASEAN Future Forum on Tuesday, discussing ways to address the emerging and existing traditional and nontraditional threats the region is facing.
It was the first forum of its kind, initiated last year by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
It came against the backdrop of the precarious geopolitical landscape stemming from the muscle flexing between the United States and China, as well as persistent criticisms about ASEAN not doing enough to deal with prevailing challenges, such as the Myanmar crisis and escalations in the South China Sea.
In recent years, most Southeast Asian countries have sought to take economic advantage of the US-China rivalry, although they have also increasingly become concerned over Beijing’s aggressive behavior in the South China Sea.
Never before has ASEAN been faced with “such a multitude of challenges” while sitting “in an ever-advantageous position”, said Pham in his opening remarks.
