THE Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and Australia have
begun charting a fresh course to ensure that the partners steer clear of the
economic conflagration that has befallen most Western economies.
The 25th Asean-Australia Forum
took place barely a week after Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard made
public the policy white paper “Australia in the Asian Century,” which outlines
what Australia needs to do to take advantage of “Asia’s return to global
leadership.”
Sitting down for a daylong
dialogue last week, Asean and Australian officials—headed by Foreign
Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio and Roderick Smith, first acting secretary of
the Australian Trade and Foreign Affairs Department—started drafting a new
Comprehensive Partnership Plan of Action to direct bilateral-cooperation
activities. “That was a very comprehensive document that looks at the ways in
which Australia and Asean together are cooperating across the three pillars of
Asean community-building,” Smith said.
“We have a very wide range of
practical activities, all of which underpin the work that Asean is doing toward
building the Asean community in 2015.” The final draft of the action plan is
expected to be completed toward the end of next year, although senior officials
are to report of the development to Asean and Australian leaders next week in
Phnom Penh. The new five-year plan of action is set to be implemented beginning
2014, which marks Asean and Australia’s 40th year as dialogue partners.
Asean and Australia have both
pledged to strengthen cooperation in combating transnational crimes, including
terrorism and trafficking in persons, promotion of human rights, environment,
climate change and biodiversity, as well as food and energy security.
Maritime security
ANOTHER area they agreed to
continue cooperating on is maritime security.
But officials were careful to
mute maritime cooperation, considering the backdrop of simmering tensions due
to overlapping maritime and territorial claims in the South China Sea and the
East Sea.
“We all agree that it’s very
important to continue to work together and look for ways in which we can help
reduce tensions over the issue of the South China Sea, manage those over time,
and look to build cooperation,” Smith said.
Claimants—and even non-claimant
states with interest in the region’s shipping lanes—are in agreement that a
code of conduct needs to be adopted at the earliest time to prevent the tension
from deteriorating to open conflict. China, however, is opting to bide its time
and wait until conditions are ripe to begin negotiations.
In the meantime, Asean is
undertaking other projects—including the recent maritime experts’ forum held in
Manila—to keep discussions and ties active.
An Australian expert spoke in
that forum, in attestation of Australia’s eagerness to contribute expertise and
ideas to advance confidence-building efforts.
Regional integration
ASEAN and Australia also
emphasized the importance of pursuing regional integration and addressing both
traditional and non-traditional security concerns through Asean-centric
efforts, such as the East Asia Summit (EAS), Asean Regional Forum and Asean Defense
Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM+).
Asean also thanked Australia for
its initiatives on drug-resistant malaria, which are expected to be among the
key topics for discussion in the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh.
Other important ongoing processes
between Asean and Australia include:
-
The
implementation of the Asean-Australia-New Zealand Free-Trade Agreement; and
-
The launching
of negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which
would take place at the sidelines of the upcoming EAS.
Two-way trade between Asean and
Australia amounted to approximately $88.4 billion in 2011, accounting for 14.5
percent of Australia’s total trade.
“Asean greatly values its
relations with Australia, Asean’s first dialogue partner.... Australia’s engagements
with Asean have been deep, significant and have had a great impact on our
regional integration,” said Basilio.
The Philippines is Asean’s
country coordinator for Asean-Australia Dialogue Relations for 2012-2015.
“Indeed, Australia’s engagements with Asean have been deep, significant and
have had a great impact on our regional integration,” Basilio continued.
Australia has been supporting
Asean’s Master Plan on Asean Connectivity, as well as the grouping’s efforts to
narrow development gaps, alleviating poverty and promoting sustainable
development,as well as disaster management.
“We’ve been working at this
[relationship] for a long time, and we’ll see a continuation of that. Over the
next five years, we’ll see a further deepening of it,” Smith said.
Intensified involvement
AUSTRALIA’S intensified
involvement in Asean is part of the Gillard government’s strategy to exploit
the promise of a robust Asian economy.
Among the initiatives included in
the white paper are the appointment of a dedicated ambassador to Asean to be
based in Jakarta, as well as planning for an embassy in Mongolia and consulates
in Shenyang, Phuket and eastern Indonesia.
Asean and Australia began
dialogue relations in 1974, seven years after the economic bloc’s
establishment.
Australia, since then, has been
an active partner and has been part of the founding of key Asean mechanisms,
such as the Asean Regional Forum in 1994, the East Asia Summit in 2005, the
ADMM+ in 2010 and the Expanded Asean Maritime Forum last month.
Johnna Villaviray Giolagon
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. Since we are currently changing the platform of www.yourvietnamexpert.com, you may contact us at: sbc.pte@gmail.com, provisionally. Many thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment