This year, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations celebrates its 50th founding anniversary, with the theme, “Partnering for Change, Engaging the World.” The theme reflects the Philippine government’s advocacy to promote unity among the Asean members and its global partners. Luckily, the Philippines’ chairmanship of the 2017 Asean Summit coincides with this historic milestone event.
On Nov. 11, world leaders started coming to Manila for the 31st Asean Summit and Related Summits. The Summit was held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) from November 12 to 14. Besides the leaders of the 10 Asean member countries, over 10 country leaders from outside the region also came as dialogue partners, whom the Asean countries collaborate with on several issues such as economy, trade, sustainable development, and security. These dialogue partners were US President Donald Trump, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, European Council President Donald Tusk, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In the formal opening of the 31st Asean Summit in the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) on Monday, President Duterte delivered his opening remarks as the Chairman, where he highlighted the issues on terrorism and security. He sought for the cooperation of nations in addressing terrorism and extremism, which endangered the peace, stability, and security within the region. According to him, the series of meetings were excellent opportunities to discuss matters of regional and international importance. He also mentioned the problem of illegal drugs.
One of the highlights of the summit was the signing of agreement between the Asean member countries and China on the crafting of a Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea (SCS). Signed on November 13 during the 20th Asean-China Summit, the signatories of this agreement aim to maintain peace, stability, and freedom of navigation in the SCS, in accordance with the international law.
Another milestone of the group during the summit was the signing of the Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, which was also dubbed as a “landmark document,” or an agreement that aims to give social protection and access to justice and health services to the migrant workers within the region.
The summit also served as an opportunity for the Philippines to strengthen its ties not just with its fellow Asean members, but also with its global partners such as the United States, Japan, Russia, and China.
Through the years, the Asean community has focused in economic integration and growth, and consensus-building, resulting to unprecedented growth. It is now the world’s seventh largest market and the third largest labor force.
The Asean is projected to be the fourth largest economic bloc in the world by 2030. We see it clearly. 50 years later, traditional power blocs no longer view members of the Asean as lackeys but as strategic partners.
Happy 50th Anniversary to the Asean. Congratulations to the Philippines for the successful chairmanship of Asean 2017.