Why does ASEAN repeatedly emphasize that "you cannot be an agent"?

Jakarta, 7 Jul (ZXS) -- Why does ASEAN repeatedly emphasize that "it cannot be an agent"?

China News Agency reporter Li Zhiquan

"ASEAN cannot be an arena for competition, cannot be an agent of any country, and international law must be consistently respected."

On July 7, local time, Indonesian President Joko Widodo emphasized this when meeting with foreign ministers attending the 14th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting and its series of meetings. He said ASEAN is committed to strengthening unity, cohesion and centrality to maintain regional peace and stability.

At the opening of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting, Indonesian Foreign Minister Letno also stressed in his speech that ASEAN should maintain unity and centrality, and said that ASEAN will never become an agent of great power competition.

Lai Jianwen, assistant professor of the Department of International Relations at Indonesia's President University, told China News Agency that in order to maintain the peace, stability and prosperity that Southeast Asia has enjoyed for more than 50 years, ASEAN needs to maintain its central position. ASEAN will not become a proxy for the superpower, and it is also a lesson learned from history.

In fact, emphasizing the centrality of ASEAN and not being an agent of any external power is also the mainstream voice of member countries.

As the rotating chairmanship, Indonesia also hopes to make a difference in promoting economic recovery and growth, strengthening regional connectivity, and is committed to exercising its leadership on regional hotspot issues.

According to Veronica, director of the China Department of the Indonesian Center for Strategic and International Studies, ASEAN emphasizes that "it cannot be an agent", and the subtext is that in some regional issues, it does not want Western countries to interfere, and ASEAN will manage itself.

In other words, Lai Jianwen explained, it is that they will not explicitly express their support for either side, especially in the sensitive events of some major power games, and member countries are unwilling to choose sides.

Recently, the so-called "Indo-Pacific strategy" and "Asia-Pacific NATO" have aroused the attention of ASEAN members. Some major countries outside the region want to use the South China Sea issue to intervene in regional affairs.

Veronica told the China News Agency that if NATO is "Asia-Pacificized", many Asia-Pacific countries will face pressure to choose sides, which will inevitably impact the centrality of ASEAN and lead to chaos in the regional security situation. Taking the South China Sea issue as an example, she said that the South China Sea issue must be resolved by regional countries themselves in order to maintain regional peace and stability. The interference of other parties in regional affairs will only undermine regional unity and is not conducive to regional peace.

Indonesia's theme of the rotating presidency is "ASEAN Matters: Building a Center for Economic Growth", which shows ASEAN's consideration of economic priorities.

Jokowi expressed concern for the economy when meeting with the foreign ministers of ASEAN member states and partners. He said ASEAN has great potential to become a center of economic growth. He hoped that ASEAN and its partners would carry out genuine cooperation and support each other.

In Lai Jianwen's view, some Western countries are unreliable in terms of economic cooperation. From the perspective of regionalism, ASEAN's preferred option is Asia, and the preferred option is China, Japan and South Korea.

Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian said that China is ASEAN's largest trading partner, and cooperation on the "Belt and Road" has brought tangible benefits to both sides. It is hoped that China and ASEAN will enhance mutual trust and jointly promote stability and prosperity. Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son said that he hopes to expand exports to China and will actively participate in the China-ASEAN Expo and the China International Import Expo.

Veronica pointed out that the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting and series of meetings were held against the background of world economic uncertainty, and the recovery of the global economy requires close cooperation among countries, not conflicts and wars. She believes that the cooperation between China and ASEAN in the economic field will continue to strengthen and will become one of the important engines to promote global economic growth. (End)