The summit between the leaders of Asean and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Saudi Arabia last Friday was the first time the two regional organisations collaborated in what is developing into a divided and fast-changing global environment.
The fact that the inaugural summit was held not very far from the ongoing war between Israel and the militant Hamas group should serve as a reminder of how fragile the region is and will continue to be.
Judging from the 16 leaders' rhetoric, both spoken and written, they certainly do not want to add more fuel to the fire, so their common positions on the current Middle East situation were constructively highlighted and consolidated.
For years, Asean has taken an unwavering position on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, but this time, the leaders from Asean and GCC could meet face-to-face and jointly firm up their commitment.
At first, political pundits thought the Gaza Strip war would steal the thunder from the Riyadh summit.
However, this turned out not to be the case. On the contrary, GCC members and Asean leaders fully realised that this unique opportunity would allow them to display their shared vision of how these two strategic regions could link up and work together to promote peace and prosperity, something they should have done during their three decades plus of engagement.
Indeed, their bilateral ties could have been better had there not been a lack of preparedness by Asean and GCC members.
Each Asean country has different positions and views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and these divergences have impeded the overall progress of Asean-GCC relations. Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam do not have diplomatic ties with Israel; however, they do have informal economic ties. Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines maintain good ties with Israel. The rest of Asean members have adopted a low profile on the issue.
Meanwhile, GCC members were also caught in a dilemma because of the internecine squabbling among their members. In 2014, Qatar's ties with its GCC members -- Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- went downhill due to the latter's allegation of the former's support for terrorism, which led to a deterioration in relations between Qatar and Saudi Arabia's friends and allies. It wasn't until January 2021 that Saudi Arabia and Qatar decided to reconcile and normalise ties, which quickly benefited the intra-diplomatic relations within the Middle East.
With Indonesia chairing Asean and Malaysia as coordinator of Asean-GCC relations, these relations have been speedily revitalised, and their collective efforts led to the Riyadh summit. The present crisis in the Middle East has become a golden opportunity for Asean and GCC to recommit themselves to peace and stability in the volatile region and map out their future cooperation.
In addition, both sides have been able to redesign their plans for 2024-2028, covering the whole gamut of bloc-to-bloc ties.
The two outcome statements and one document indicate the future trajectory of their relations amid the conflict, whose impact on the region is unpredictable. The joint statement of the Asean-GCC summit, the Asean-GCC joint statement on the situation in Gaza and the new Framework of Cooperation 2024-2028 cover the outcomes of their discussions and agreement.
In addition, Asean separately issued a statement on the Gaza conflict. The major substance of the two statements is similar, especially their support for a negotiated two-state solution that allows the Israelis and Palestinians to live side-by-side in peace and security, consistent with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolution.
In addition, Asean and CGG support the initiatives of Saudi Arabia, the European Union, and the League of Arab States to revive the Middle East peace process in cooperation with Egypt and Jordan. However, the Asean ministerial statement was a bit more specific. Besides condemning the violence that led to the deaths and injury of civilians, it specified the casualties "including Asean nationals".
In the current conflict, Thai workers suffered the highest casualties among Asean workers, with 30 Thai workers killed, 18 injured, and 19 taken hostage, while the Filipinos suffered four fatalities. Nevertheless, Thai and Filipino casualties were not the subject of media reports outside the region. The rescue and negotiations have been focused on foreign hostages, mainly Westerners.
Through formal and informal diplomatic channels in the Gulf, the Thai government is trying to negotiate for the hostages' release. Over the weekend, two Thais were released by Hamas through the assistance of Qatar and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
At the summit, both Asean and GCC were very careful in drafting their joint and individual statements on what is occurring in Gaza to avoid being viewed as siding with either side of the conflict.
Indeed, the broader conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, heightened by the war with Hamas, has again placed Asean in the dilemma of whether the bloc has to choose a side. After a heated debate, Asean senior officials agreed that despite individual Asean members' divergent views, they would stress their common positions.
Beyond the Middle East conflict, Asean has also called for a joint effort to quickly institutionalise Asean-GCC cooperation via regular, substantive, and effective mechanisms in specific areas.
Furthermore, there are also new areas of cooperation under the Asean-GCC framework for cooperation. One of these is climate action. For the first time, the two regional organisations are engaging and consulting one another ahead of COP 28, which will be held next month in Dubai. They can push together to ensure all principles of the climate agreements are met despite different national circumstances.
Within the 2024-2028 cooperation framework, both sides will also forge close partnerships to enhance the integration of their regional markets, including efforts to implement sustainability and decarbonisation, digital transformation, small and medium enterprises, public-private sector engagement, and people-to-people ties.