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ASEAN must be in regional ‘driver’s seat’ amid US-China tensions
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said ASEAN should not become a pawn in the new Cold War.
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (second left) and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi (right) attend the ASEAN leaders summit at the bloc's secretariat building in Jakarta on April 24. (Handout/Muchlis Jr/Indonesian Presidential Palace via REUTERS)
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SEAN must have a strong role in regional dynamics to avoid being used as a “pawn” in the geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China, Indonesia’s top diplomat has said, as the association’s premier fora continue to host verbal skirmishes between the two powers.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said on ASEAN’s 54th anniversary on Sunday that although most member states were focusing on containing COVID-19, the pandemic was not the only challenge the regional bloc faced. The great power rivalry between US and China, she said, could sow discord within the group.
“Rather than being a pawn in this new Cold War, ASEAN must be in the driver’s seat to shape regional dynamics. We must promote principles and values enshrined in ASEAN’s Outlook on the Indo-Pacific region to guide other countries in their engagement with our region,” Retno said.
In the first week of August, top ASEAN diplomats met with their counterparts from the bloc’s dialogue partners, including China, Japan and South Korea, at the ASEAN-plus-three ministerial meeting, as well as at the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).
The EAS is an ASEAN leadership forum consisting of 18 countries, including Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the US and Russia. Representatives discuss strategic, political and economic issues in the region.
The annual ARF, meanwhile, is intended to promote open dialogue on political and security cooperation. Its 27 participants include Canada, North Korea, the European Union, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Concerns over scaled-back diplomatic engagement at the fora, which were held online this year, were dispelled as countries raised sensitive issues with each other and the ongoing US-China tensions cast a shadow over events.
