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Try empathy at ASEAN-Australia talks
In light of the roller coaster ride that has been the relationship between ASEAN countries and Australia throughout the years; both parties should really think about this approach to deal with their diverse interests. There are several highlights.
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In light of the roller coaster ride that has been the relationship between ASEAN countries and Australia throughout the years; both parties should really think about this approach to deal with their diverse interests. There are several highlights.
(Shutterstock/File)
T
he ASEAN-Australia Special Summit to be held this weekend is sparking new optimism for closer and more strategic cooperation between the two parties. Yet as the day of the summit approaches, the risk of this optimism going pale is apparent.
The growing concern that Australia will also use the event to raise human rights issues in some ASEAN countries may lead to responses from Cambodia and the Philippines.
Considering that Australia has been the longest ASEAN dialogue partner since the establishment of the ASEAN-Australia Dialogue Forum in 1974, a new approach in the relations between ASEAN and Australia is imperative if the two parties want to make the coming summit an impetus for the “new level of engagement”, as coined in a statement from the 29th ASEAN-Australia Forum held on March 9 and 10 in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, last year.
To this end, both the ASEAN countries and Australia need to implement a “strategic empathy” approach. Strategic empathy is generally used between two parties with diverging interests to understand the drive of the other party’s behavior.
