The UK’s engagement with ASEAN has long been considered part of the ASEAN-EU partnership, but since the country is leaving the supranational organization, it now wants to engage with the bloc on its own.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a new dimension to relations between the United Kingdom and Southeast Asia, with the Commonwealth country remaining hopeful that all 10 members of ASEAN would accept its application to become a dialogue partner of the regional bloc.
Having expressed interest in becoming a dialogue partner over the past few years, the UK submitted a formal application to ASEAN in June this year, said the UK’s first ambassador to ASEAN, Jon Lambe, on Thursday.
“So [the application] is now being considered by ASEAN. They are thinking through the various aspects of that and of course we are hopeful that we would receive positive answers,” he told The Jakarta Post.
This week, Southeast Asian country leaders are convening at the ASEAN Summit, which started on Thursday. They met with leaders of China, Japan, South Korea and India on the opening day and are scheduled to meet with leaders of the United States, New Zealand and Australia on Saturday.
ASEAN has 10 dialogue partners including Russia, Canada and the European Union, where officials meet regularly in a 10-plus-one format to discuss cooperation over economic progress, market access, the transfer of technology and development assistance.
The UK’s engagement with ASEAN has long been considered part of the ASEAN-EU partnership, but since the country is leaving the supranational organization, it now wants to engage with the bloc on its own.
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