Opinion | Is Australia set to join Asean as China’s assertiveness grows?
The blossoming relationship between Canberra and its Southeast Asian neighbours is driven by shared geopolitical fears and economic greed, Richard Heydarian writes
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and Australia just concluded their first-ever special summit in Sydney. The high-profile event, which saw the participation of 10 heads of state and government, marked the increasingly warm relations between the largely Western nation and its Asian neighbours to the north.
In many ways, Australia was late to the party, as the United States and India held similar events earlier, even if Canberra was Asean’s first dialogue partner more than four decades ago.
Former American President Barack Obama held an intimate summit in Sunnylands, California, with Southeast Asian leaders towards the end of his term, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted a similar gathering during India’s national independence day in January this year.
However, Australia reaffirmed its status as a new force in the regional pecking order by managing to bring together almost all Southeast Asian leaders at the three-day summit, which ended on March 18, with the notable exception of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has shown little interest in visiting any Western nation.
In the past, Australia’s relations with Southeast Asia were hobbled by disagreements over immigration and human rights issues, a perennial fault line in Canberra’s ties with Jakarta throughout the 20th century. Today, however, it’s a very different story.