PM Lawrence Wong meeting Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on the sidelines of the Asean Summits in Vientiane. - PHOTO: MDDI
VIENTIANE, Laos (The Straits Times/ANN): Over three days, new Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra held what must be a record 15 individual meetings with world leaders. Remarkably, she managed all of these and a litany of nearly 20 other meetings at the annual Asean leaders’ gathering in Vientiane.
Laos, one of the smallest Asean member states with a population of seven million, took over in January as the rotating chair of the grouping of South-East Asian nations in 2024.
The Asean model of values consensus and non-interference, which has been in place for nearly 60 years, has its share of critics. This is particularly so given its slow or lack of progress in resolving regional issues like the Myanmar crisis and tensions in the South China Sea.
But against the rising tide of nationalism and protectionism, this model can now be a beacon of cooperation in a fractious world, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong signalled.
“It is important that Asean and Asean partners show that there can be a different way. A way where we work together and benefit from more integration, rather than more isolation,” he said on Oct 12. “Where we can benefit from win-win cooperation and free trade,” added PM Wong. The Asean Summits marked his first multilateral meeting since he was sworn in as prime minister on May 15.
Asean’s 10 member states make up the third-largest regional economy in Asia and the fifth-largest in the world, lending significant clout to the grouping.
The forum, along with its East Asia Summit, can claim credit for the rare achievement of getting major powers America, Russia and China in the same room.
Despite an intense upcoming national election brewing back home, Japan’s newly minted Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba made time to attend the summits in what he indicated was a necessary counter to China’s potentially dominating discussions.
“Japan wishes to shape and safeguard the future together with Asean,” he told Asean leaders during a meeting. He also conveyed Japan’s support for strengthening maritime security cooperation. Japan is also one of Asean’s dialogue partners, alongside others like Australia and South Korea.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Asean Plus Three summit in Vientiane on Oct 10. PHOTO: REUTERS
The Myanmar conundrum
In Vientiane, the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar once again featured prominently in discussions.
The country spiralled into civil war and economic collapse after a 2021 military coup, and despite Asean’s best efforts to encourage dialogue among all stakeholders, the fighting and violence have only worsened.
Asean, in its commitment to regional unity and non-interference, has its hands tied behind its back, unable to get one of its own to adhere to the grouping’s agreed peace plan.
While members continue to stand by the five-point consensus – Asean’s formal peace plan for Myanmar – frustration with the lack of progress has only grown more palpable this year.
Asean is now “trying to think of new strategies”, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr told local media. “We have to admit... we have not been very successful in actually improving the situation.”
Thai PM Paetongtarn – who came to power in August, and was the youngest, at 38, and only female country head at the Asean leaders’ meetings this year – suggested that Thailand hold an informal dialogue in December, involving all Asean members, though exact details are still scant.
“Asean should send a unified message to all parties in Myanmar that there is no military solution. It is time to start talking,” she told fellow leaders.
Previous attempts at informal dialogues with Myanmar were largely lopsided or scattered, involving just a handful of Asean members like Indonesia and Thailand, with third-party countries such as China and India also having separate engagements.
As the 2023 Asean chair, Indonesia attempted to introduce several innovative approaches that included establishing an envoy’s office and platforms for engagement with Myanmar’s various ethnic armed forces that are at war with the ruling junta. However, in the recent year, the conflict has only escalated.
Thailand’s proposal to involve all Asean members may end up injecting fresh impetus to engage with Myanmar to resolve the impasse. In any case, it’s the only new proposal on the table right now.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken with Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone and his wife Vandala Siphandone before a gala dinner on Oct 10. PHOTO: REUTERS
Biden administration’s last dance
This year’s Asean gathering was also the last for the Biden administration, which was represented by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Vientiane.
The world is watching if Vice-President Kamala Harris or former president Donald Trump will win the race to the White House in early November.
But whoever the new leader will be, there is a “profound understanding” and bipartisan consensus that America’s future is in the region, Mr Blinken said, replying to a question from The Straits Times on Oct 11. “It’s my belief that that basic approach will continue irrespective of who’s president, because it’s so manifestly in our interests,” he said.
While some may point to President Joe Biden’s absence from the Asean gathering for a second year in a row, Chinese President Xi Jinping was not in Vientiane either, with Premier Li Qiang heading the Chinese delegation.
Still, engagements in the past week in Vientiane have yielded a bevy of agreements between Asean and its partners, with steps taken on free trade agreements, the digital economy, as well as pledges on security and sustainability.
Many of these agreements will potentially yield mutual benefits for all parties involved, particularly the 600 million people in Asean member states, attesting to Asean’s convening power.
This is not something to be scoffed at, even though concrete progress on other critical issues have been lacking.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the Asean Plus Three summit in Vientiane on Oct 10. -PHOTO: REUTERS
Singapore’s pragmatism takes flight
On a lighter note, PM Wong captured hearts in the summit’s host country when he arrived in Vientiane on Oct 8 on a Lao Airlines flight. Photos and footage of him and his wife disembarking from the plane were widely shared by the media, including the Laotian Times and state media Lao Economic Daily, and online platforms.
These posts have garnered thousands of likes across various pages, with many comments in Lao language expressing surprise that the Singapore Prime Minister was taking a commercial flight, and a Lao Airlines one at that.
It is a longstanding practice for Singapore leaders to travel via commercial flights for official trips and engagements.
The Tholakhong, a Lao-language media page with over 1.4 million followers on Facebook, said: “The Prime Minister of Singapore travelled with Lao Airlines, showing his confidence in the standard of service and safety (of the airline), while also saving costs and helping to promote the host (Laos).” Lao Airlines’ official Facebook page also shared the same photo, extending a “a warm welcome” to PM Wong, his wife and his delegation, adding that it was “a great honour”.
The Prime Minister’s flight back to Singapore on a Scoot flight on Oct 12 caused a stir back home as well. The low-cost carrier is the only airline that flies directly between Singapore and the Laotian capital, but even Singaporeans were surprised that he flew on a budget airline. - The Straits Times/ANN
