NEW DELHI – Asean should take leadership on Indo-Pacific issues, instead of only reacting to the actions of other nations, said Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah.
He said a number of non-Asean countries have taken initiatives that bear on the region’s security, safety, and prosperity.
“Of late, we have seen a number of initiatives by our partners related to Asean, whether directly or indirectly,” the minister said in an interview.
He noted that Asean came up with the Asean Outlook on the Indo-Pacific in 2019, in response to major Western and Asian countries, including India and China, intensifying their geopolitical involvement in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions.
The document emphasises that Asean should lead in shaping the region’s economic and security architecture.
Saifuddin said he believed Asean should not adopt a reactive approach to regional developments.
"We need to own the leadership. Asean has to claim leadership in talking about the region, rather than reacting to other people talking about the region,” he said.
One arrangement often in the news for its Indo-Pacific focus is the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, better known as the Quad, made up of the United States, Japan, Australia, and India.
Though its beginning is traced to the humanitarian and disaster efforts of the four countries in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the Quad took formal shape in 2007.
Sometimes referred to as “Asian Nato”, the Quad’s Indo-Pacific activities have dramatically grown over the last five years with an eye on China's rising regional influence.
“Now we have others too. We have Aukus, we have IPEF,” Saifuddin said, adding that China is also looking to grow links with the Pacific islands.
Aukus is the security partnership announced by Australia, United Kingdom and the US in September last year, while the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity was launched in May this year.
Asean’s Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam are among IPEF’s 13 members along with all the Quad partners. – Bernama, June 20, 2022
