The EU-Asean summit last week in Brussels was important symbolically for the two regional organisations’ strategic partnership, economically for its commitments to deepen their already powerful interdependence, and geopolitically for their commitment to multilateralism and the rule of law.
These are the two most developed regional blocs in a rapidly changing world, though they have many differences in history, organisation, membership rules and attitudes to state sovereignty. Their closer cooperation matters because they face common problems on peace and security, economic cooperation and trade, connectivity, sustainable development and climate change and on regional and international issues. These are spelled out in the comprehensive joint statement signed by their political leaders. It sets out their plans for partnership under these headings, reinforcing the commitments made in a recent more detailed joint action programme.
Both documents are the product of prolonged official, diplomatic and political engagement. That is significant and can feed back into the affairs of the EU’s 27 and Asean’s 10 member-states. Together they make up a good proportion of the world population and a larger percentage of its economic activity.
This summit shows that the EU and Asean countries are entering into a better relationship going beyond the previous donor-receiver model. It is now more balanced and mutually interactive. Among the most important tasks they face is how to manage their relations with the US and China as the two superpowers compete for influence, presence and alignment in both regions.
The EU and Asean countries share values of peace, security and stability, alongside a joint commitment to effective multilateralism. The EU recognises Asean’s centrality in the emerging Indo-Pacific region. They have a mutual interest in keeping their regions open and inclusive, rather than being boxed in by a new bipolar conflict where they are forced to define their alignments to one or another great power.