The article was first published by Project Syndicate on 7 August 2017.
Dr Le Hong Hiep is Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.
There was no shortage of good news for Asean coming out of the 50th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting that took place over the weekend in Manila, the Philippines, especially with regards to its relations with China. Not only did the Joint Communique include strong and firm language on land reclamation and militarisation activities in the South China Sea, but Asean and China also formally endorsed the framework for the Code of Conduct (COC) of the South China Sea. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi even took the opportunity to propose three steps to move the COC consultations forward. The most encouraging point among the three steps is Foreign Minister Wang’s pronouncement that the “leaders of China and ASEAN member states will officially announce the start of the next step to negotiate on the text of the COC at the China-ASEAN Leaders’ Summit in November” this year.
2017/47, 8 August 2017
Dr Micah Morton spoke on how the global resurgence of religious and ethnic identity politics have been playing out in the borderlands of the Upper Mekong Region; and also on how local, national, and transnational religious and ethnic identities are being transformed by the region’s ongoing political and economic integration initiatives.
The article was first published by The Straits Times on 8 August 2017.
Dr Norshahril Saat is Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.
Dr Mustafa Izzuddin is Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.
- Jarkarta Globe, 7 August 2017: Asean, EU to Strengthen Cooperation in Collective Security With New Plan of Action
- Eurasia Review, 5 August 2017: Is ASEAN A Community? – Analysis
The article was first published by Khmer Times on 8 August 2017.
Dr Vannarith Chheang is Visiting Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.
This article was first published by Philstar Global on 5 August 2017.
Dr Termsak Chalermpalanupap is Fellow and Lead Researcher ASEAN Studies Centre at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.
“Vietnam and ASEAN Re-lift the Bar for South China Sea Statements” by Le Hong Hiep
The 50th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) last week managed to issue a joint communiqué that contains stronger language on the South China Sea than the Chairman’s Statement issued at the 30th ASEAN Summit last April. By emphasizing, for example, “the importance of non-militarization and self-restraint in the conduct of all activities, including land reclamation” in the South China Sea, the communiqué is virtually on par with the one issued last year at the 49th AMM.