At the retreat on Sunday, Asean leaders hailed the Asean Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP), reiterating it is our own perspective and response to an unpredictable world and disruptive international environment. Echoing this sentiment, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha told a press conference that the document is significant, as Asean now has a common approach on cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region that will reinforce the Asean-centred regional architecture. That was the most important highlight of the two-day 34th Asean Summit.
Indeed, the Indo-Pacific strategies and visions proposed by the US, Japan, India and Australia prompted Asean members to get their thoughts and acts together to seize the opportunity and challenges by showing collective inspiration. Throughout its 52-year history, Asean has been able to survive because of its solidarity against the changing external environment. Therefore, Asean needs to stand on its own two feet, walking its own path to protect the grouping's interest. The AOPI represents the grouping's latest common effort to interface with all other Indo-Pacific initiatives and face a new world in which many emerging powers are competing for influence and turf in the most unpredictable ways.
In the past decade since the financial crisis, Asean's dialogue partners have continued to renovate their foreign policy approaches with new elements to win more friends and subdue foes. Most of all, they want to make sure their relations with Asean are special and close.
The US and China are good examples of Asean dialogue partners, which not only compete globally on hordes of issues but also within Asean frameworks. In the case of the US, President Donald Trump continues to follow the impressive progress made by his predecessor, Barack Obama, on Asean-US relations. Although Mr Trump continues to undermine Mr Obama's diplomatic success elsewhere, he has not done so in Southeast Asia. The Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy represents a new US approach towards Southeast Asia focusing on infrastructure investment to catch up with the connectivity trend.
On the other hand, as a result of China's continuity and emphasis on promoting ties with Asean, Beijing has come out with so many new initiatives and activities in all dimensions over the past decade that Asean has not been able to respond and take advantage of all the offers. Under the AOIP, it will be able to absorb more kinds of cooperative schemes.
Together with the AOIP, other dialogue partners can level the playing field as well. Every one of them can pick and choose. Upon close scrutiny, one quickly realises that the AOIP is also the fulcrum of principles and norms. The document's paragraph 10 has put down all of those -- both within regional and international contexts -- that have made Asean what it is today.
Central to the AOIP is the broader application of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC). This regional code of conduct has served Asean well and now the grouping has the confidence to promote it farther afield in the international arena.
Today, 27 countries from around the globe have acceded to the TAC. Peru and South Africa will join it at the upcoming Asean foreign ministerial meeting. At the Bali summit in 2011, Indonesia expanded the TAC's mandate so that it could be applied to the major powers, under the EAS Principle for Mutually Beneficial Relations.
It is through their common vision that the Asean leaders agreed on the AOIP. There were disagreements over titles and areas of cooperation but that was all. Over the past several months, all sorts of condescending views were heaped on the grouping stating that its members were too divided to agree on anything substantial, let alone try to complete a new framework on cooperative efforts encompassing the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean regions.
Indeed, the AOIP will now serve as a barometer for whether a humble regional code of conduct based on non-interference, consensus and non-use of force could be accepted and played on. Obviously, Asean's next step is to bring all its dialogue partners into the loop and let them take part in four major areas of cooperation -- maritime cooperation, connectivity, sustainability and economic cooperation.
Most of the active debates were focused on economic cooperation, under which the AOIP identified 10 possible areas of cooperation, ranging from trade facilitation and logistics infrastructure and services to micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises; from climate change and disaster risk reduction and management to active ageing and innovation.
One of the most important areas that Asean members were very enthusiastic about was No.9: preparing Asean for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). To take up the challenges of the digital economy, Asean needs to learn from each other as well as share experience and expertise on ways to benefit from the 4IR. This is an area where dialogue partners with advanced economies can provide assistance.
At the Asean post-ministerial meetings (Asean+1) at the end of July and in early August, Asean will discuss the AOIP with its 10 dialogue partners. The outcome of their meetings will form the basis of discussion at the 14th East Asia Summit (EAS) in early November.
While there are other Asean-led mechanisms -- including the Asean Regional Forum and Asean Defence Ministerial Meeting Plus -- Asean and its dialogue partners will pay attention to the EAS framework.
It is hoped that the AOIP will be adopted by the EAS leaders due to its inclusiveness and underlying principles. As a group, Asean is a benign power and means no harm. The AOIP shows the grouping can build bridges linking all friends and potentials foes. Asean's aim is crystal clear, trying to gather all the positive energy and goodwill pledged in the various Indo-Pacific strategies to work in its favour, both securing peace and promoting development and progress. A stronger Asean will prevent the rise of a hegemonic power in the region.
Kavi Chongkittavorn is a veteran journalist on regional affairs.