Asean in Singapore, Apec in Papua New Guinea: all you need to know about Asia’s summit season
- From the South China Sea to the Rohingya, this week’s summits will see the region’s biggest players engage with the biggest issues
- Here’s what to watch out for
Many of them will then travel to Papua New Guinea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum this week. The poorest member economy in the bloc, one of the world’s least liveable cities according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, has already raised more than a few eyebrows over using Australian cruise ships to house delegates and 40 brand new Maseratis for the visiting dignitaries to ride around in.
WHAT ARE THE SUMMITS?
The Asean Summit is a twice-yearly meeting of the leaders of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which they also use to meet collectively with leaders of partner countries.
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“Challenges from outside Asean are diminishing the concept of the centrality of Asean, and challenges within the bloc undermine unity,” says Herve Lemahieu, director of the Asian power and diplomacy programme at Sydney’s Lowy Institute.
The meeting also marks the handover of the Chairmanship of Asean from Singapore to Thailand, which will host next year’s meetings.
WHO WILL BE THERE?
The 10 leaders will then have a collective Asean +3 summit with Li, Abe and Moon, before attending the East Asia Summit with Modi, Morrison, Pence, Putin and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Guests at the summit include Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera and International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde.
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“Meeting with China at Apec is symbolic for Australia in a region it has typically considered its sphere of influence,” says Lemahieu. “This provides an opportunity to warm up the relationship but within the confines of red lines against foreign influence in Australia.”
Australia is also a member of “the Quad” – a grouping of the US, India, Australia, and New Zealand – the existence of which has been interpreted by some as a threat to Asean’s centrality as the primary multilateral forum in the region.
WHAT’S ON THE AGENDA?
Li said in a commentary in The Straits Times on Monday that China would “work with all relevant parties to expedite” negotiations.
Karen Pitakdumrongkit, deputy head and assistant professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies’ Centre for Multilateralism Studies, thinks the RCEP will not be concluded before next year.
“But at the meeting, they may deliver a statement re-affirming their commitment to arrive at a substantial conclusion by the end of this year.”
“The advantage of RCEP is its scale,” says Lemahieu. “Nothing competes with it in terms of how large an agreement it would be.”
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“There’s no doubt that smaller bi- and plurilateral free-trade agreements like those are case studies in best practice free-trade agreements,” says Lemahieu. “They are not competing with RCEP though, but rather informing it. No one expects RCEP to be as in depth as those agreements, but it will bind a much larger grouping of countries.”
Pitakdumrongkit suggests that nations which cannot comply with terms of the modified TPP may be motivated to agree upon RCEP sooner.
On Monday, Asean ministers signed an agreement on electronic commerce. They have also adopted a smart cities framework to use technology to improve access to public services in 26 pilot cities across Southeast Asia.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
The meetings come just a few days ahead of a plan between Myanmar and Bangladesh to begin repatriation of Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar, a move which has been condemned as premature by the United Nations.
Lemahieu says Asean leaders are expected to break with the tradition of not commenting on the internal affairs of member nations and criticise Myanmar for the situation.
“Asean’s credibility is on the line here, and they perceive this to be sullying the reputation of Asean. Mahathir has also voiced concern that what’s happening in Myanmar also has the potential to deepen religious divides within Asean.”
Mahathir has long advocated for unity and cohesion among Asean nations in order to achieve the bloc’s potential. Analysts expect Mahathir may strike a more assertive tone than has typically been the norm at the summit, and that regional leaders will welcome him taking a stronger stance in advocating cohesion for the bloc as it balances the influences of the US and China.
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It is not clear if Li and Pence will hold separate talks on the sidelines of the meetings, which would be a prelude to a summit scheduled between Trump and Xi at the end of the month in Buenos Aires.
At the Apec forum, Xi will hold a meeting with the heads of 14 Pacific island nations as Australia, which is increasingly concerned about China’s influence in the region, also steps up efforts to boost ties with the countries through infrastructure grants and the setting up of diplomatic missions.
Additional reporting by Reuters