Outcome Reports
Facilitating Multilateralism: EU - Cambodia ASEAN Dialogue
The European Union has a deep and lengthy history in promoting multilateralism. Less well known is Cambodia’s own commitment to this principle, with the kingdom approaching ASEAN to mediate its historic Preah Vihear border dispute with Thailand and the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces regularly serving as members of United Nations peacekeeping missions. At present, the future trajectory of multilateralism remains very much an open question, particularly in light of rising Sino-American competition in Southeast Asia and, indeed, globally. Various analysts and scholars have argued that the future of geopolitics is one that will be defined by the decline of multilateralism, citing a wide variety of variables as key causes: rising nationalism, the long-term impacts of the Trump administration’s abjuring of multilateral institutions and models, the perceived shift into a new era of bipolarity etc.
However, at the same time – the Covid-19 pandemic could provide an opportunity to begin to reset this narrative, as cooperation in this area has begun to bear fruit, demonstrating how the failure of states coordinating around major issues can have severely negative implications. Issues such as climate change and cybersecurity remain key issues and both will require significant, multilateral efforts to ensure the realization of effective solutions.
As Cambodia prepares for its chairmanship of ASEAN in 2022, the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP), with the support from the Delegation of the European Union to Cambodia, organized a one-day conference on “Facilitating Multilateralism: EU-Cambodian ASEAN” on 12 October 2021 at Raffles Hotel Le Royal, Phnom Penh and via ZOOM, in order to examine how the EU and its member states can support the kingdom as it takes on the role of ASEAN chair.
The conference comprised of two panels. The first of these would focus on EU-ASEAN relations in the context of multilateralism writ large and how the relationship between these two entities can be furthered developed to facilitate multilateralism both in Southeast Asia and globally. The second panel will examine more precisely the questions of: (i) the ASEAN Chairmanship 2022, and (ii) the meaning and future of the principle of ASEAN Centrality.
However, at the same time – the Covid-19 pandemic could provide an opportunity to begin to reset this narrative, as cooperation in this area has begun to bear fruit, demonstrating how the failure of states coordinating around major issues can have severely negative implications. Issues such as climate change and cybersecurity remain key issues and both will require significant, multilateral efforts to ensure the realization of effective solutions.
As Cambodia prepares for its chairmanship of ASEAN in 2022, the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP), with the support from the Delegation of the European Union to Cambodia, organized a one-day conference on “Facilitating Multilateralism: EU-Cambodian ASEAN” on 12 October 2021 at Raffles Hotel Le Royal, Phnom Penh and via ZOOM, in order to examine how the EU and its member states can support the kingdom as it takes on the role of ASEAN chair.
The conference comprised of two panels. The first of these would focus on EU-ASEAN relations in the context of multilateralism writ large and how the relationship between these two entities can be furthered developed to facilitate multilateralism both in Southeast Asia and globally. The second panel will examine more precisely the questions of: (i) the ASEAN Chairmanship 2022, and (ii) the meaning and future of the principle of ASEAN Centrality.