Ambassador Pou Sothirak, Executive Director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace has been invited to speak at the Expert Seminar entitled ASEAN amidst the US and China Rivalry: An emergence of a Bipolar World, organized by Konrad- Adenauer-Stiftung Vietnam Office together with the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam in Hanoi, from 23-26 August 2022. He spoke at Session III: Implications for ASEAN, Southeast Asian countries, and policy recommendations on Great powers’ relations and implications for Southeast Asia.
Amb. Pou Sothirak discussed, first, ASEAN’s Relevance amidst US and China Rivalry by mentioning that the evolving regional and global security landscape requires the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to remain vigilance, creative, and bold so as to manage regional hotspots and address issues that stand in the ‘ASEAN Way’ in improving its relevance and secure its interests in the longer term while dealing with these challenges and the dynamics of regional and global development. As ASEAN moves ahead into the next half-century, there are a few contests that need to be confronted and addressed squarely to ensure ASEAN’s continued relevance, viability and vitality. Moving forward, the regional grouping must constantly remind all its 10 members to remain united or else suffer outside powers inference that can undermine “ASEAN Centrality” affecting ASEAN’s traditional modus operandi and its fundamental cohesion.
He also discussed the implications for ASEAN. As the US and China in recent days compete fiercely against each other in all fields, their bilateral relationship is arguably the world’s most consequential relationship, impacting the global world and ASEAN included. Implications for ASEAN involve the different views these two powers see each other through ideological principles, choice of the political system in their respective countries, how the international system is supposed to work on a global, regional, and individual country basis, as well as the believes and values each of the two powers adhere to and not to mention how they conduct their foreign policy between them and bilaterally with individual countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
At the end of his remarks, Amb. Pou Sothirak mentioned that the future prospect of ASEAN hinges on the correct assessment of the implications deriving from the U.S. and China rivalry affecting the regional bloc’s destiny and ASEAN must transpire to become a viable mechanism to balance effectively big powers rivalry in the Indo-Pacific by focusing on:
- Accurately assess the shifting of the world order being unfold in the post-Covid-19 world order. While continuing to ride on China’s economic might, ASEAN should acknowledge that the United States still remains the dominant extra-regional power in Southeast Asia. ASEAN must avoid leaning too deep into China’s economic bounty and the need to continues to open the region for the U.S.
- Come up with a bolded strategy that could engage both powers smartly but prudently by not circumventing one power against the other and maintain strict neutrality while balancing big powers competition to prevent ASEAN as a whole from taking side with one power or the other. ASEAN must assume a role as a credible interlocutor in engaging the two powers in a strategic dialogue, building trust between them, and working together to resolve global challenges.
- On the South China issues, ASEAN and China need to focus on resolving challenges for biding and credible Code of Conduct. These challenges are: the geographical scope has not been defined and agree upon; COC’s legal status remains undefined; third, the applicability of international norms for the COC; and the lack of mutual cooperation and trust among the claimant states and other stakeholders.
- Find suitable multilateral mechanisms to constrain or help manage confrontational behavior between the U.S. and China. ASEAN should continue to engage the US and China through existing frameworks such as the ADMM Plus, the ARF, and the EAS, even if there are limitations in terms of what can be accomplished.
- In dealing with both the U.S. and China, ASEAN Member States must manage their inherent differences quietly so as to foster stronger intra-ASEAN unity and strengthen its centrality which could provide opportunities for external partners to gain leverage and strike a common purpose with all involved in keeping the region peaceful and prosperous.
- ASEAN must ensure that the scope of its regionalism is moving forward steadfastly to observe rules-based and obligations of a global and modern system. ASEAN-led security community needs to inspire new capability of taking proactive and operational steps on security issues such as territorial conflicts, arms control, nuclear proliferation, and the remnant security issues of the Cold War (i.e. Korean Peninsular and the cross-Strait relation between China and Taiwan), as well as other transnational and non-traditional security concerns all of which continue to pose a threat to regional stability.
