Looking Towards Cambodia’s ASEAN Chairmanship
The 38th and 39th ASEAN Summit and related Summit meetings held virtually was concluded on 28 October 2021 under the Chairmanship of Brunei.
Leaving aside the political crisis in Myanmar, and amidst ongoing negotiations with China on a Code of Conduct and other political issues including the admission of Timor-Leste to ASEAN, Brunei must be commended for pushing forward with initiatives to accelerate the economic recovery of the region. The achievements across the three pillars are aptly captured in the 27 pages and 102 paragraphs of the Chairman’s statement.
The establishment of the High-level Task Force (HLTF) comprising eminent persons to look at the post-2025 roadmap; as well as the adoption of the Bandar Seri Begawan Declaration on the Strategic and Holistic Initiative to Link ASEAN Responses to Emergencies and Disasters (ASEAN SHIELD), Declaration on the Blue Economy, Bandar Seri Begawan Roadmap on ASEAN Digital Transformation and Consolidated Strategy on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), are some of the key achievements of Brunei’s Chairmanship.
The admission of United Kingdom as ASEAN’s newest dialogue partner and the accreditation of 96 non-ASEAN ambassadors to ASEAN are new milestones to strengthen relations with external partners. Furthermore, the decision to not invite Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the chief of the military government of Myanmar to the Summit signals a change in the grouping’s policy of non-interference in domestic political affairs of its members. ?
Perhaps this is also a new milestone in the grouping’s long history and the first time since the adoption of the ASEAN Charter in 2008 that a leader of an ASEAN Member State has not been invited to the Summit. The decision stems from the failure of the military government to implement the Five-Point Consensus agreed earlier this year, which include de-escalating tensions within the country, cooperating and allowing access to Brunei’s special envoy to visit and meet with all parties in Myanmar. However, whether this is a new beginning where action could be taken against any member for non-compliance or in serious breach of the Charter is yet to be seen.
There are already mixed reactions from political pundits on Cambodia’s ASEAN Chairmanship and whether there will be any meaningful outcomes in 2022. Prime Minister Hun Sen, as the most senior ASEAN leader, I believe, will rise above the occasion to drive economic recovery of ASEAN. For starters, I do not believe Prime Minister Hun Sen will allow political issues to derail its Chairmanship of ASEAN. Rather, Cambodia is expected to move beyond political issues.
Prime Minister Hun Sen’s statement, as quoted in Khmer Times, that “with a strong solidarity from ASEAN Member States and the support of its external partners, Cambodia will aim to further advance the ASEAN Community building process and to sustain ASEAN as a region of critical importance for global trade, investment and supply chains” shows his resolve to drive ASEAN forward during Cambodia’s ASEAN Chairmanship. ?
ASEAN remains an attractive location for foreign multinationals. Collectively or individually, members of ASEAN are part of an extensive network of FTAs and has entrenched its position in regional and global value chains, and is among one of the top global hubs for manufacturing and services.?
On the economic front, Cambodia should continue to push for full implementation of commitments under the AEC 2025 Blueprint. There should be no delay or roll-back in commitments that could affect the economic integrity of the grouping and dismay the businesses. Furthermore, as part of its priority economic deliverables, Cambodia could push for a mechanism to initiate dialogue among governments and digital industry players. Such a dialogue could catalyse and push ASEAN to advance its timelines to negotiate an ASEAN Digital Economy Framework in 2025. ?Transparency and adopting coherent rules and regulation could also accelerate the growth and development of digital trade within ASEAN or the wider RCEP region.
Under this year’s Brunei’s priority economic deliverables, the Non-Tariff Measures (NTM) Cost-Effectiveness Toolkit (NTM Toolkit) was adopted. Perhaps under Cambodia’s chairmanship, consideration could be given to developing sectoral annexes for high priority products such as pharmaceutical, foodstuff, medical and automotive. Such sectoral annexes could provide businesses certainty in rules and regulations. Common region-wide rules and regulations for trade in high priority products would be a major boost in accelerating economic recovery and expanding intra-ASEAN trade and investment flows. ?
It is also timely for ASEAN collectively to consider arriving at a consensus on newer economic issues such as sustainable development (labour and environment), anti-corruption, regulatory coherence, and government procurement covering market access. Except for government procurement, all other areas are being addressed in ASEAN and thus it is time for officials to develop a common template for these areas which could form a basis for negotiating FTAs with more ambitious external partners. It could also promote the resumption of negotiations with EU, and possibly with United Kingdom.
As stated by Prime Minister Hun Sen, Cambodia’s Chairmanship of ASEAN is a collective responsibility in line with its theme “ASEAN ACT” – Addressing Challenges Together. ASEAN should not allow 2022 to slip away without any meaningful outcomes.