ASEAN leaders are set to convene in Bangkok this week for the 34th ASEAN Summit, which will focus on issues relevant to the region, including finding a common approach on the Indo-Pacific.

Last week, however, a diplomat familiar with the issue revealed that the expected conclusion of the ASEAN concept paper might be delayed because Singapore has yet to endorse it, throwing the adoption plan into disarray.

Asked for comment on its reluctance to endorse the concept, Singapore’s Mission to ASEAN merely said it supported “any regional initiative that preserves ASEAN centrality and unity, advances economic engagement of our region and promotes a rules-based international order anchored upon international law”.

ASEAN operates on consensus-building, a point that critics are quick to point out as a flaw.

Concerns have been growing that the absence of a unified ASEAN voice on the Indo-Pacific would allow for more great-power rivalry in Southeast Asia, particularly between the United States and China, who continue to tussle for influence in the region.

But the perceived “foot dragging” by a member state might say more about whether the common concept is genuinely substantive and impactful, said Ibrahim Almutaqqi, head of the ASEAN Studies Program at the Habibie Center think tank.

“Jakarta seems keen to have an agreement in place as soon as possible to showcase ASEAN unity, whereas Singapore perhaps wants to have an agreement that is more than only symbolic in nature,” he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

While to some extent the great-power rivalry has given ASEAN more urgency to better define its role, Ibrahim said “The question facing member states is whether to have an immediate but generic response or a more substantive agreement that however would take more time.”

The Indonesian Foreign Ministry’s director general for ASEAN cooperation, Jose Tavares, said that while the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Outlook was one of the 16 planned outcome documents, the concept was still being negotiated.

“At the summit we hope that it can be endorsed by the foreign ministers and then adopted by the leaders, so that we can follow it up with more concrete cooperation in the fields of connectivity, [Sustainable Development Goals] and broader economic relations,” Jose said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

“This concept basically aims to keep peace, stability and prosperity in the region going.”

Other observers were more concerned with the concept’s eventual impact, with Evan Laksmana of the Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies saying it was an “uninspiring initiative” in its current format.

Instead, he argued it would be better for ASEAN to expend more political capital on delivering agreed-upon initiatives such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the finalization of the Code of Conduct in the disputed South China Sea.

“What does the adoption mean? Do we have a new concrete measure out of the concept that we didn’t have before? Do we have a new institutionalized EAS [East Asia Summit] with a secretariat, for example? How will the concept address ongoing challenges in the region? Can the concept help Southeast Asia navigate ongoing US-China rivalry?” he asked.

“Having yet another concept and statements was fine 20 years ago when we were still at the norms-building phase. We are now fast entering a practical phase in ASEAN where concrete progress is expected on the ground — not just another round of ‘increasing comfort level.’”

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