Khmer Times, Opinion, 20 December 2021 (Link)
There is a tendency for media and public opinion to overly focus on the political security aspect of ASEAN. Indeed, the aspect is of high importance because without peace, a wide spectrum of cooperation and community building efforts cannot be done.
Nonetheless, with the intensification of superpower rivalry, while ASEAN can be flattered to receive unprecedented attention, it can also be submerged with agenda of superpowers and get lost from our own goals for the sake of community interest.
While ASEAN is being praised for being the center for specific geopolitical strategies of superpowers and major powers, in other words, it also means that ASEAN is becoming the central platform for superpower and major power rivalries.
There can be optimistic view that competition between major powers creates balance of power that in turn supports stability and prosperity of the region. But this narrative is only partially completed. We need to remind ourselves that geopolitical competition and rivalry had been pursued at the expense of peace for some part of the region during the 1970s and 1980s.
This lesson should not be forgotten, and not least, be repeated in the region. Being the theater for superpower and major powers rivalry does not serve the whole region well, if history is of any reminder for all of us.
For ASEAN, political security is not all about confrontation and rivalry. And ASEAN is not all about political security either.
For the benefit of our community, apart from the maintenance of peace and security, we need to constantly think about what kind of tangible benefits that the ASEAN community bring towards people in the region. How could the ASEAN community support the betterment of people’s livelihood in the region? This is where the economic pillar comes into play.
When Covid-19 is still looming, the prospects for the economy is gloomy as countries look internally for economic security and survival, and resorted to de-globalization, or at worst protectionism. Ensuring resilient economic recovery, revitalising post-pandemic competitiveness are among the key economic priorities for ASEAN in the near future.
To that end, among many areas of cooperation, three key areas should deserve stronger attention from media and public opinion.