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Ukraine invasion: Singapore’s condemnation aside, rest of Asean’s ambivalence is ‘shocking’
- Singapore, Indonesia condemn Russia’s assault; Malaysia ‘sad’; Vietnam wants diplomacy; Philippines, Thailand focus on their nationals; Myanmar’s junta backs Putin
- Southeast Asia, which has long called for big nations to respect international law, now seems largely silent. Oil and the South China Sea partly explain why. But silence has a cost too
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In Southeast Asia, where the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov once lamented economic ties ran only “skin deep”, the immediate diplomatic response to Moscow’s Ukraine war has been one of deep ambivalence.
Diplomatic observers say despite Russia’s shallow trade and investment exposure in the region, governments are exercising caution in condemning the aggression as they mull the long-term costs of their response.
Also in focus are surging energy prices and the implications of alienating Russia – the world’s second biggest exporter of crude oil.
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“In general there is a lack of urgency and strategic empathy among countries like Indonesia that the war will have ramifications for US-China competition more broadly, and regional flash points like Taiwan, more specifically,” said Evan Laksmana, a senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore.
By Friday evening – more than 36 hours after the assault began – only Singapore and Indonesia had outrightly condemned the invasion as a violation of Ukrainian sovereignty, though the latter’s statement did not name Russia.
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The reaction from the rest of Southeast Asia was a mixed bag, with Malaysia expressing “sadness” over the assault and Communist-ruled Vietnam – Russia’s closest regional partner – calling for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis before the onset of the invasion.
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