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Epicentrum of growth: What does it mean for ASEAN and China?
The theme of "ASEAN matters" alongside the "Epicentrum of Growth" is an effort to emphasize economic cooperation as the foundation of ASEAN centrality.
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Indonesia's 2023 ASEAN priorities. (Various sources/JP/JP/Yvette Tanamal/Hengky Wijaya)
After serving the Group of 20 presidency in 2022, Indonesia, the chair of ASEAN this year, will host the ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara on May 9-11. Indonesia’s chairmanship upholds the summit’s theme of ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth.
The chosen theme is interesting since it explicitly offers the Epicentrum of Growth (EoG) as the core of why “ASEAN matters”. Through this, Indonesia conveys the message for ASEAN unity and centrality amid increasing power rivalries around it.
However, what does “EoG” mean? Furthermore, how does this concept of “EoG” provide the basis for ASEAN centrality, especially in terms of its relation with dialog partners, such as China?
The term EoG is often followed by a discussion on how Southeast Asia is an important center of global economic growth. It is true that the ASEAN region, as well as neighboring East Asia, is often described as one of the global engines of growth. Optimism surrounding realizing this theme comes from the fact that ASEAN is an economic powerhouse with a huge labor market.
Based on data from The Economist, it is estimated that in 2023 the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of the five ASEAN founding countries (excluding Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Timor-Leste) is in the range of US$3,530 (the Philippines) to $70,350 (Singapore). Indonesia’s GDP per capita is $4,970.
Other interpretations of the EoG put emphasis on the term “epicentrum”, or the center point of something. This interpretation assumes that ASEAN plays the role of center of the architecture of regional economic cooperation. Both interpretations are a description of the situation, not a vision of Indonesia’s presidency.
