T

he United Kingdom has unequivocally reiterated its interest in ASEAN by declaring it was ready to assign a representative to the Southeast Asian bloc.

UK Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Simon McDonald revealed the plan in Jakarta on Thursday.

He said that, with a dedicated representative and a mission, London wanted to establish formal ties with ASEAN outside the European Union following Brexit. The representative, who also serves as head of diplomatic service at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, was expected to push for post-Brexit bilateral engagements with ASEAN.

He noted that the UK had indeed been a dialogue partner of ASEAN, albeit under the EU. With Brexit, formal UK-ASEAN ties were needed to maintain and improve the existing ties.

“So, we are looking at connectivity around the world. We are looking at those relationships. We most want to preserve [relationships] where continuity is important to us, and we have concluded that ASEAN is one of those relationships,” he told The Jakarta Post.

“So, we hope to have a continuous dialogue partner status after we leave the EU.”

McDonald added that the UK ambassador to ASEAN would visit Jakarta this year but provided no further details.

The envoy would be responsible for, among other things, ensuring that existing technical agreements with ASEAN and its member states, which the UK currently enjoys under the EU, will be maintained after Brexit.

“I think having a new mission is a very strong signal. So, I think that by itself shows a seriousness of intent,” he said.

In August 2018, Mark Field, UK Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific, made a tour across ASEAN member states introducing the UK’s “All of Asia” policy.

Field said there were three key issues to that policy — prosperity, security and values — based on the consideration that Asia “represents the future of this planet”.

On Thursday, McDonald echoed Field’s statements, saying that, as a young region, ASEAN was one of the world’s most rapidly growing economies. Thus, it attracted interest from the UK, the economy of which “depends on international trade”.

“Countries with developed markets are of particular interest and countries with growing markets are of even greater interest. And so, ASEAN fits into that category,” he said.

Later in the day, McDonald and all 10 British ambassadors to Southeast Asian countries met with ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General for Political and Security Community Hoang Anh Tuan and Deputy Secretary-General for the ASEAN Economic Community Aladdin D. Rillo.

The 10 ambassadors also held an annual gathering at the UK’s embassy in Jakarta hosted by UK Ambassador to Indonesia Moazzam Malik.

“This year, we chose to hold it in Jakarta, because Indonesia is the biggest country in the region, seat of ASEAN, and has an important election this year,” Malik said in a statement. “As we come out of the European Union we are looking to deepen our relations with the region and the ASEAN.”

At the meeting, he said, the envoys discussed particularly ASEAN’s shifting geopolitics, the rise of China and “how the UK can support ASEAN to prosper and ensure security”.

He further revealed that they also had discussed efforts to deepen cooperation with ASEAN on trade and investment, security and defense, cyberspace and financial technology, education and the English language as well as human rights and democracy.

“We look forward to the incoming visit of the ASEAN Secretary-General [Lim Jock Hoi] to London in late January,” Malik added.