TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
ASEAN deepens ties with Australia, understands China better
Two recent events show that ASEAN, sandwiched between China in the north and Australia in the south, indeed has a central role in maintaining peace in this vast Asia-Pacific region and that its bigger neighbors are well aware of this fact.
Change Size
Leaders’ gathering: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (center, rear) addresses a plenary meeting on March 6, 2024 during the 2024 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. (Reuters/Joel Carrett)
H
owever thrilling American politics is these days, especially after President Joe Biden’ State of the Union address, the focus should be on Beijing and its recently concluded Two Sessions. Attention should also have been on Melbourne, which hosted a special summit last week to commemorate the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Australia relations.
Let’s start with some kudos for Beijing’s diplomacy that scored two important victories in South Asia: a defense pact in the Maldives and a new government in Kathmandu that is keener to deepen its ties with China.
Returning to Beijing and Melbourne, understanding the dynamics of these two vastly different events can help us interpret the upcoming geopolitical trajectory of the wider Asia-Pacific.
First is a little disappointment.
Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang broke with tradition and did not attend the widely anticipated press conference. This is a strategic mistake, because it was a missed opportunity for China to communicate its strategic stances, not only to the region but the entire world.
The more Beijing’s second-in-command explains and elaborates his country’s priorities and strategies, the better. China, as one of only two hegemonic powers in the world, must step up its communication so that even its critics can better understand its complex decision-making process.
It is ironic, because according to a Global Times report, the Chinese premier himself had underscored the importance of effective communication.
