KUALA LUMPUR/PHNOM PENH (Bernama): Asean has the potential to wield significant global influence by utilising the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) as platforms to address the prevailing geopolitical challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly concerning the competition between the United States (US) and China.
Rizal Sukma, a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Indonesia believes that the regional grouping possesses the capability to convene major global and regional powers through the aforementioned regional forums.
He said this was to facilitate a strategic dialogue aimed at effectively managing the existing geopolitical challenges.
"We want Asean to take a more active stance on geopolitical matters, given that these issues will significantly shape the region's future. This is to prevent the Indo-Pacific region from becoming a mere arena for the power struggle between the US and China, which goes beyond mere competition or rivalry," he said.
Rizal told this to Bernama after being a panelist at the plenary session titled China-US rivalry: A march towards conflict? at the 36th Asia-Pacific Roundtable (APR) themed ‘ An Age of Strategic Uncertainty’ here.
He further emphasised that Asean could harness the EAS and ARF to exercise its convening power by bringing together the leaders of member states for a purposeful strategic dialogue focused on the US-China competition.
However, he highlighted the need for a shift in the format of these meetings to make them less formal and to allow ample time for leaders to engage in discussions about security challenges in the region.
EAS serves as a pivotal platform for strategic discussions within the Indo-Pacific. It uniquely brings together key partners from the region to deliberate over political, security, and economic issues.
The EAS comprises 18 members, including the ten Asean countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam), as well as Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, and the United States. The leadership of the EAS rotates among Asean member states on an annual basis.
Concurrently, the ARF plays a role as the premier Asia-Pacific multilateral forum for official consultations regarding peace and security matters. Its composition encompasses Asean member states and dialogue partners such as Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the US.
Prior to this, geopolitical scientist Dr Johan Saravanamuttu concurred with Rizal saying that ASEAN can be the convening power to assist in managing the growing challenges in the evolving dynamics of the Indo-Pacific.
Dr Johan stressed that, however, the bloc must maintain its non-aligned and instrumentalities while dealing with a potential post hegemonic world order in the current hybridised environment of global politics.
Meanwhile, Chair of APR Organising Committee and Chairman of Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia, Prof Dr Mohd Faiz Abdullah in his welcoming remarks at the event said over the past three and a half decades the APR has developed its own niche as one of the world’s top think-tank Track 2 conferences.
He highlighted the significance of the 36th APR conference, which is being convened physically for the first time since the 33rd APR in 2019. The 34th and 35th APRs were conducted virtually in 2021 and 2022, respectively, due to the global circumstances brought about by the pandemic.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to give his keynote address at the event Thursday (Aug 10). - Bernama
