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View all search resultsObservers call for ‘more mature’ ASEAN as weeklong talks begin
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A
ll eyes are on ASEAN and its chair Indonesia this week to show, rather than tell of, its central role in the region, as the bloc contends with deep internal divisions and growing external security concerns.
The 56th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) began in Jakarta on Monday with a senior officials’ meeting (SOM) to lay the groundwork for the gathering. It will be followed this week by a series of meetings of the region’s top diplomats and some of the bloc’s key dialogue partners, including the United States and China.
With less than half a year left of Indonesia’s ASEAN chairmanship, Jakarta has been under increasing pressure to make progress on some of the group’s most intransigent issues, from the protracted Myanmar coup crisis to increasing tensions in the Indo-Pacific and fears of further militarization.
At the 18 meetings to be held this week, Indonesia will head discussions focused on maintaining regional stability, whether by setting up rules of engagement in the contested South China Sea, swaying key countries to pledge to keep Southeast Asia and the broader Indo-Pacific nuclear weapons-free or advancing the human rights agenda in a region that has seen notable regressions in recent years. Perhaps above all else, the international community will be watching ASEAN’s efforts to restore peace in conflict-torn Myanmar.
At Monday’s meeting, top officials discussed the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) agreement, plans to address the bloc’s internal discord and recommendations for the implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
“The SOM also discussed ASEAN’s relationship with its dialogue partners in many respects, and there were many recommendations submitted to the foreign ministers,” said Sidharto Suryodipuro, the Foreign Ministry’s director-general for ASEAN cooperation, at a press conference in Jakarta on Monday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell are all expected to attend meetings this week.
