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n Jan. 5, Lim Jock Hoi officially assumed the office of the ASEAN secretary-general at a handover ceremony held at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. Replacing the outgoing Le Luong Minh, who served from 2013 to 2017, the former permanent secretary at Brunei’s foreign ministry would be forgiven for taking it easy during his first few days as he accustomed himself to his new role.

Instead, he hit the ground running, attending a groundbreaking ceremony for the new ASEAN Secretariat building on the same day.

The next day, whilst most were enjoying their weekend, Secretary-General Lim was “punching the company clock,” opening the fifth roundtable of ASEAN-Indian network of think tanks
at an event featuring Foreign Minister LP Retno Marsudi and her visiting counterpart, Sushma Swaraj.

Such a work ethic will be needed, as a challenging inbox awaits him. Already scheduled in the coming weeks are special summits in Australia and India.

All 10 ASEAN leaders are expected to attend India’s Republic Day celebrations on Jan. 26.

Underscoring Indian Prime Minister’s Narenda Modi’s “Act East Policy,” this will be the first time that the celebration’s chief guest comes from a bloc of nations rather than an individual country. Meanwhile, from March 17 to 18, the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit will also be a first, as Australia looks to reciprocate a similar gathering two years ago in Vientiane, Laos, and to demonstrate its continued commitment as ASEAN’s oldest dialogue partner.

Secretary-General Lim’s first year in office will also coincide with the 15th year of the ASEAN-China Strategic Partnership — a partnership that continues to be overshadowed by the competing claims of Beijing and several ASEAN member states over the South China Sea.

Whilst progress was made last year with ASEAN and China agreeing on a framework for the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, it is questionable to what extent this can be considered an achievement.

Sixteen years have passed since the nonbinding Declaration of Conduct in the South China Sea of 2002 had first called for a Code of Conduct. In that time, Beijing has quite literally changed the realities on the ground, reclaiming islands in the disputed area and installing military facilities.

These new realities arguably mean that any Code of Conduct — if ever finalized — will automatically be rendered irrelevant. The question of how far ASEAN can press its largest trade partner on the South China Sea issue, whilst taking into consideration the wider strategic partnership, will be a delicate one for Secretary-General Lim to address.

Speaking of trade, hopes that negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) would be concluded in 2017 were dashed when it was announced that more talks were needed.
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[...] any code of conduct — if ever finalized — will automatically be rendered irrelevant.

While the decision of the United States to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has put greater attention on the RCEP, it is now the third time that the deadline for the mega free trade agreement involving ASEAN and its six free trade agreement partners has been pushed back since the first round of negotiations began in 2013.

One diplomat observed that the TPP’s stalled progress had in some ways removed the urgency to conclude the RCEP and may prove a curse rather than a blessing. In the case of Secretary-General Lim, his previous role as Brunei’s chief negotiator in the TPP may prove a valuable asset in pushing for the early conclusion of the RCEP.

This is important in other areas as well. For example, the economic prosperity that the RCEP — as well as the ASEAN Economic Community — aims to bring to the region is crucial in raising public awareness of ASEAN.

It cannot be denied that ASEAN awareness remains low in the region despite efforts of ASEAN to address this. Subscribing to the adage “It’s the economy, stupid!” as the best way to make the public care about ASEAN is by ensuring the regional organization matters for them in terms of creating jobs, providing food and offering greater opportunities.

Lastly, it was notable that both the new and outgoing secretary-generals called on the ASEAN Secretariat to enhance its analytical and research capacity. The outgoing Le Luong Minh stated, “ASEAN would benefit from a more professional Secretariat with sufficient expertise and confidence to inject frank and objective inputs.” Civil society should also be afforded the space to contribute such inputs.

It will certainly be a challenging first few days, weeks and months for the new secretary-general, but he is not alone in this endeavor. As he rightly remarked, “Let us work together to bring ASEAN to greater heights.” Indeed, let’s work together!
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The writer heads the ASEAN studies program at the Habibie Center, Jakarta.