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ASEAN centrality ‘at stake’ in Indo-Pacific contest: Russian envoy
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Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during a group photo at the ASEAN-Russia Summit in Singapore in 2018. (Reuters/Edgar Su)
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ussia’s envoy to ASEAN has warned that Southeast Asia’s much-lauded centrality is at risk of being challenged by the “strategic uncertainties and ambiguities” of Indo-Pacific concepts that other powers allegedly use to advance their own vested interests in the region.
Speaking at a recent webinar organized by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Russian Ambassador to ASEAN Alexander Ivanov discussed attempts to “divide and rule” through various Indo-Pacific concepts, especially amid growing tensions between the United States and China.
“At stake is not only ASEAN’s central role in the region but peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific,” Ivanov said on Nov. 19.
Speaking from his experience in preparing for the recent East Asia Summit – an ASEAN-led mechanism convening leaders of 16 countries that was held on Nov. 14 – the envoy said there were “unprecedented levels” of division among participating members.
“The Western participants openly rejected any attempt to reach an agreement on specific practical steps to revive the regional economy or jointly combat the pandemic,” he said, accusing the US delegation of blocking certain issues from appearing in collective EAS commitments.
“You won't find any reference to regional integration, open markets, resilient growth, the leading role of the [World Health Organization], multilateralism and many other things in the outcome documents,” said Ivanov.
The Indo-Pacific concept is a strategic reimagining of the Asia-Pacific in terms that are interpreted in different ways by different countries and interests. One common but contentious interpretation tries to take the focus away from China and its increasing influence in the wider region. Other nations, including Russia, have their own narratives.
