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ASEAN 2050: Toward a new ambition
If ASEAN wants really to become a truly relevant institution in the world, it needs to become relevant to, and noticed by, its own people.
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People pose with the newly set up logo of ASEAN, as Indonesia officially assumes the group's chairmanship following a ceremony in Jakarta on Jan. 29. (AFP/Goh Chai Hin)
Y
ou might have thought that Myanmar or the official representatives of the generals in power had been shunned from ASEAN. But it is not really the case.
Preventing them from attending the annual ASEAN Summit is still considered the symbolic pinnacle of the bloc’s pressure on Naypyidaw, hoping stronger positions would follow. Instead, the permanent representative of Myanmar to ASEAN was allowed to cochair the 24th ASEAN-China Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta on March 17.
While the meeting did not hit the headlines, as they often don’t with the insulated world of ASEAN affairs, it is still a reminder of a geopolitical impasse occurring in the region.
Still, this technical meeting of bureaucrats symbolically represents what ASEAN is not yet: a community of nations marching together, thanks to shared values, toward a common future.
Common values are certainly not a defining feature of the region nor the necessary vision for it to become one of the most important economic and geopolitical actors. Thinking ahead is essential.
The bloc is actually trying to do this, attempting to define how it will look in the years to come. The problem is, what should be the most exciting initiative being taken by ASEAN, imagining a different but united future, is, again, a discussion mostly held behind closed doors.
Even if some attempts are being made at reaching out to key stakeholders, there is still so much to be done to promote wider discussions about it.
