US President Joe Biden arrived in Phnom Penh on Saturday for the Asean Summit.
After holding their own closed-door talks, Asean leaders discussed tensions in the region, including the Korean peninsula and Taiwan, with global leaders including Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in separate meetings.
Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are scheduled to hold discussions with the group on Saturday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will also attend some meetings.
Cambodian Prime Minister and Asean host Hun Sen addressed Friday’s opening ceremony with a call for vigilance and wisdom during times of economic and geopolitical turmoil.
The 40th and 41st Asean Summits officially kicked off in Phnom Penh on Thursday, with Prime Minister Hun Sen calling for increased vigilance on the current socio-economic situation and for commitment to Asean’s “One Vision, One Identity, One Community” motto. The summits will run through Sunday, with related meetings to follow.
Speaking at the opening ceremony on Friday morning, Hun Sen, in his capacity as current Asean chair, said that a long list of over 100 outcome documents will be adopted to guide actions and cooperation for the coming years.
The summit will also issue the Asean Leaders’ Statement on the grouping’s 55th anniversary along with the Asean Leaders’ Vision Statement on “Asean ACT: Addressing Challenges Together” and the leaders’ statement on “Asean Connectivity Post-2025 Agenda”.
“These policy guides affirm our resolve to building the future of Asean as a community that is united, inclusive, resilient and rules-based; a community that abounds with opportunities, where all people enjoy seamless connectivity, equitable economic development, a healthy environment and equal social protection.
“A community that remains central to the evolving regional architecture and one that forges external partnerships based on mutual trust and respect for regional and global peace, security and sustainable growth,” he said.
He stated that Asean and its member states can now declare that they have overcome the Covid-19 pandemic. Based on the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office’s October projections, each member state will record a positive economic growth rate, with the Asean region as a whole projected to achieve growth rates of 5.3 per cent and 4.9 per cent in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
However, he cautioned: “While we are now enjoying the fruits of our efforts and moving towards sustainable growth, we must remain vigilant, as the current socio-economic situation in Asean – as well as the whole world – remains fragile and divided.
“We are now at the most uncertain juncture; the lives of millions in our region depend on our wisdom and far-sightedness, the correct decisions and policies, and a realistic approach to addressing the strategic challenges we all face,” he added.
Hun Sen also called for upholding to the values that Asean had built and stood for, with the One Vision, One Identity, One Community motto.
“Let us focus on the common goal of mutual development for peace, stability and the betterment of the region. Our close relationships were not created by chance, but through years of hard work, commitment and perseverance.
“We must treasure and be grateful for what we have built, and therefore, maintaining our unity, solidarity and centrality is of utmost priority in order for our region to remain sustainable and resilient through what is to come,” he said.
Asean Week 2022 in Seoul showcases beauty of traditional textiles
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022
An annual cultural event exploring the histories and cultures of Asean countries kicked off on Thursday at the Asean-Korean Centre in Seoul.
The Asean Week 2022 this year follows the “Ancient Futures – Treasures of Asean Fabric” theme, with an exhibition of textiles and fabric items from Asean member states put on display at Cociety in Seongsu-dong, Seoul.
Each display provides information on the places of origin and stories related to the fabrics created by master artisans using traditional methods.
For instance, “Pua Kumbu” from Malaysia featuring spiral patterns and intricate hooks take a year to complete. The ethnic fabric inspired Malaysian-born shoe designer Jimmy Choo’s collection entitled “Mahkota” in 2013, which pays tribute to Malaysian traditional fabrics.
“Lanh My A” silk of Vietnam is made by weaving the finest silk threads coloured with dyes made from the mac nua fruit. The textile is often used by Vietnamese fashion designer Nguyen Cong Tri, whose designs have been worn by several celebrities including K-pop star Rose of Blackpink, Margot Robbie and Beyonce, according to the Asean-Korea Centre.
The four-day event, which runs until Sunday, aims to enhance understanding and awareness of Asean culture and tourism and provide an opportunity to appreciate the “uniqueness which derives from diversity”, said the centre.
The Asean Week was first launched at Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall in June 2019, in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Asean-Korea Centre as well as the Asean-Korea Commemorative Summit in Busan in 2019.
The Asean-Korea Centre is an international organisation founded in 2009 to promote economic, social and cultural cooperation among the 10 Asean member states – Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam – and South Korea.
Asean leaders join the opening session of summit in Cambodia
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2022
Leaders of Southeast Asian nations began an annual summit on Friday that is likely to be dominated by Myanmar’s escalating violence and political gridlock, with increasingly frustrated members of the group struggling to get the country’s junta to comply with an agreed peace plan.
Several representatives of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have blamed Myanmar’s military rulers for failing to implement a peace plan agreed jointly last year, which includes ending hostilities and allowing access for a special envoy and aid.
Asean, which has barred junta leaders from its meetings since last year, repeated last week its commitment to the so-called five-point peace consensus, but some members have been pushing for a stronger stance.
Leaders from the other nine countries in the bloc – Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – were present at the meeting in Phnom Penh.
US President Joe Biden will join the meeting on Saturday (November 12), as will Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will also attend.
Prime Minister Hun Sen on November 10 reiterated a call on the Asean countries to continue to uphold the principles of a multilateral trading system and enhance trade liberalisation and spurred the private sector on to invest more to accelerate post-Covid-19 economic recovery.
The premier was speaking at the opening session of the second of the two-day Asean Business and Investment Summit (ABIS) 2022, in Phnom Penh.
Although the Covid-19 crisis has significantly abated across the world, the global economic situation and outlook remain vulnerable and delicate, while the region is confronted with an incrementally complex web of geopolitical, socio-economic and environmental challenges, he said.
“In this sense, Asean must continue adhering to the principles of [a] multilateral trading system and enhancing trade liberalisation, to promote Asean as an open, transparent and inclusive region while maintaining [centrality and unity in the bloc] in building global and regional relations.
“Asean must also update existing free trade agreements [FTA] and comprehensive economic partnership agreements [CEPA] to ensure that these agreements are modern, up-to-date, improved and effectively responsive to current business and investment trends,” Hun Sen said.
A CEPA is a type of FTA generally designed for a more holistic coverage beyond just commodities and can contain provisions for services, investments, dispute resolution, intellectual property rights, government procurement, and additional forms of specialised economic cooperation.
The premier lauded the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (Rcep) – the world’s largest trade pact, involving the 10 Asean member states and five additional Asia-Pacific nations – as a “crucial achievement” for the Southeast Asian bloc that is in step with its individual countries’ efforts to “open up the economy and diversify our regional markets”.
“I firmly believe that this huge free trade agreement will boost trade activities both inside and outside of Asean, as well as promote broader regional economic integration.
“Our achievement in economic recovery as well as the resumption of socio-economic activities in the region would not have been made possible without the active participation of the private sector,” Hun Sen said.
At the same session, the Asean Business Advisory Council’s (Asean-BAC) rotating chairman Kith Meng underlined that post-Covid economic recovery remains a top priority for the bloc’s apex private sector body.
He commented that this year has been marked by regional turbulence arising from rising inflation, the restless global geopolitical climate, supply chain disruptions, and diverging progress in resuming pre-Covid economic activity levels.
“As our economies are struggling to get back on our feet it is imperative that we come together to not only address these challenges but also prepare for a future that is increasingly digital, and one that is climate friendly,” said Meng, who is also the chairman of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC), the Kingdom’s apex trade body.
“With this in mind, we have crafted a programme that seeks to help us better understand what is happening in Asean and the key issues we all need to be aware of to plan for 2023,” Meng said, most likely referring to the preparation of the agenda for ABIS 2022, which was hosted by the CCC.
The prime minister added that, with the objective of promoting resilient, sustainable and inclusive economic growth, the government adopted the new “Law on Investment” and set out “The Strategic Framework and Programmes for Economic Recovery in the Context of Living with Covid-19 in a New Normal 2021-2023”.
He said the government “has also been striving to increase investment in infrastructure development – both physical and digital – to improve the quality of logistics services, to enhance the efficiency of public services, to promote skill development and to modernise the social protection system”.
Singapore-based Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) recently predicted that the Asean economy would grow 5.3 % and 4.9 % in 2022 and 2023, respectively, noting that these rates were up from the 2021 figure of 3.1 %. The 2021 nominal gross domestic product (GDP) for the bloc was $3.359 trillion, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Since becoming a member of Asean in 1999, Cambodia has chaired two previous Asean summits – in 2002 and in 2012. The Kingdom is currently hosting its third summit from November 10-13.
Independent political observers The Post spoke with said they believe that Cambodia has played an excellent role in mediating regional and global political crises as chair of Asean.
Although Cambodia is a small country, it has been able to negotiate with more powerful nations over contentious issues related to the South China Sea, Korean Peninsula, Myanmar crisis and Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Despite some turbulence this past year, Cambodia has used the Asean forum to realise economic gains for the region by moving free trade deals forward such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (Rcep).
Puy Kea, a correspondent for the Kyodo News Agency, said Cambodia’s role as Asean chair raised the Kingdom’s profile on the international stage as it is acting as a representative for the entire Aseanregion through other forums.
He said Cambodia has played an important role as a mediator in the internal conflicts of member states, such as the crisis in Myanmar, and now has the opportunity to take its seat next to the US as the co-chair of the Asean-US summit. Even US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, he said, has praised Cambodia and commended it on its leadership of Asean this year.
Kea added that through its chairmanship of Asean, Cambodia was invited to chair the Asean emergency foreign ministers’ meeting on the Myanmar crisis in the Indonesian capital Jakarta at the end of October. Cambodia has also been invited to attend the upcoming G-20 Plenary Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, where it will be able to make its own statements.
“Cambodia as the chair of Asean for the first time in 2002 was successful, but the problem in 2012 was that two countries insisted on using confrontational language about China in the joint statement that Cambodia objected to, which affected the Kingdom’s reputation and caused issues with certain countries, but aside from that it went well,” he said.
Kea said the South China Sea dispute seems to have diminished somewhat this year, but the Korean Peninsula remains a contentious issue as North Korea continues to test missiles and make belligerent statements.
However, as Kea sees it, Cambodia and the world are facing three major problems: The Myanmar crisis, the potential China-Taiwan conflict and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
At the press conference on the outcomes of the 55th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and related meetings that Cambodia hosted earlier this year, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn acknowledged that the three-day meeting from August 3-5 could not immediately resolve major regional and global issues as some may have desired.
Vann Bunna, a researcher at the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP), said Cambodia has had successful negotiations on the South China Sea by issuing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), which is a precursor to establishing the Code of Conduct (COC) for the South China Sea.
Bunna noted that in 2012, Cambodia as the Asean chair was criticised for not being able to issue a joint statement for the first time in the bloc’s 45-year history and was accused of bias towards China on that same South China Sea issue.
He said that for the third Asean chairmanship, Cambodia has to address the crisis in Myanmar, the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the geopolitical rivalry between the US and China.
“For the Myanmar crisis, it is difficult for Cambodia because the military regime lacks desire for cooperation and shows an unwillingness to resolve this political crisis. The Ukraine conflict, which is causing global food crisis as well as disrupting the global economy, and the geopolitical rivalry between the US and China are also issues that these powers could use this forum to discuss,” said Bunna.
However, he also explained that although Cambodia is a small country, it could use its ability to mediate crises to allow the powerful countries to sit down for negotiations through the Asean forum.
Bunna sees three positive aspects of Cambodia being in Asean: Foreign policy, economic gain and the strengthening of diplomatic capacity.
First, Cambodia has the ability to sit and talk with the powerful countries in the region and the world with equal footing.
Second, Cambodia can use the Asean forum to make free trade agreements for the bloc like, most recently, the Rcep.
Third, Cambodia can build and strengthen its diplomatic capabilities to keep pace with crises and the ever-changing global situation.
“Imagine if Cambodia was not a member of Asean, it would have no chance to sit in front of the two superpowers to discuss issues, and those powerful countries would not value Cambodia much,” he said.
Cambodia is the most recent country to become an Asean member state after it joined in 1999, but that looks like it is about to change with East Timor now appearing to be a lock to join in the near future – another order of Asean business that will be addressed, at least in part, at this summit.
Asean ready to respond to pressing issues: Summit spokesman
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2022
As Asean Summit and related meetings kicked off in Phnom Penh on November 10, spokesman said the bloc envisioned several challenges that may arise, but was confident that the Asean delegations, and partners, would work together to facilitate progress and ensure the meetings are productive.
Kung Phoak, secretary of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, serving as Asean Summit spokesman, said in a morning press briefing that when Cambodia assumed the chairmanship of Asean , there were already several challenges facing the region and the world. These included the Myanmar issue and the Covid-19 pandemic, compounded by the Russia-Ukraine conflict which has caused further uncertainty.
“Fortunately, Asean has a long-sighted vision and is prepared to respond to these challenges. What is most important is that we cooperate to push our collective agenda and ensure that we move forward in areas we have identified as priorities,” he said, adding that the current crises are in addition to more longstanding issues, including climate change, the nuclear threats on the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea dispute.
“In short, Cambodia, as chair of Asean, has worked closely with each of the bloc’s member nations to respond to these concerns,” he added, noting that Asean had issued a number of statements calling for an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
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