Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will be in the Philippines this week for a summit. It’s our turn to be chairman of the regional organization this year.
There will be at least 2,000 visitors coming for the summit and for other meetings beginning Thursday. Heads of state of nine out of 10 member countries will attend; Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi will represent her country on behalf of her president, Htin Kyaw.
A statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs said that the leaders will “exchange views on pressing regional and international issues.” The statement betrays the usual criticism of the regional organization’s apparent weak position on issues hounding the region.
And as this year’s leader, the Philippines, primarily through President Rodrigo Duterte, must set an example to its fellow Asean members and occasion a greater feeling of camaraderie and mutual help.
If they must exchange views—no, articulate a stand—Asean leaders would do well to touch on topics that the bloc always just skirted around.
It’s a summit, after all, and nobody expects the participants to go into the details of how it can put up a united front against China’s territorial bullying, or how it can persuade Suu Kyi—who will be among them—to take up the cause of the long-suffering Rohingya in her country.
In an interview with BBC a few weeks ago, Suu Kyi, who became known as an icon of democracy in Myanmar, denied the Rohingya was being persecuted when she used to denounce human rights violations of every kind.
Other members should also feel compelled to at least raise questions about reported injustices committed in the name of the war against illegal drugs —without of course appearing rude to the hosts. As diplomats, these leaders will know how to carry a sensitive but all important conversation.
Another issue is how the region can collectively act in efforts to curb climate change. After all, most of its members are vulnerable to natural disasters, both by virtue of geography and resilience.
Finally, the regional population will need a clearer message about the progress of the Asean integration especially as it applies to migration, labor and trade. Will local farmers, for instance, have to brace themselves for worse, or better times?
The next few days will be a good opportunity to make meaningful talk to our neighbors—and no, we don’t just mean pleasantries.