ASEAN should take the leadership role on Indo-Pacific issues rather than keep reacting to actions of other nations, Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said.

He said a number of non-Asean countries have taken initiatives that have a bearing on the region’s security, safety and prosperity.

“Of late, we have seen a number of initiatives by our partners, directly or indirectly, related to Asean,” the minister told Bernama in an interview on the sidelines of the Asean-India foreign ministers’ meeting.

In response to major Western and Asian countries, including India and China, intensifying their geopolitical involvement in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions, Asean came up with the Asean Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) in 2019. 

It emphasises that Asean should lead the shaping of the region’s economic and security architecture. 

Saifuddin is of the view that Asean should not adopt a reactive approach to regional developments. 

“We need to own the leadership. Asean has to claim leadership in talking about the region rather than reacting to other people talking about the region,” he said. 

One arrangement that is often in the news for its Indo-Pacific focus is the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, better known as the Quad, made up of the United States, Japan, Australia and India.

Though its origins have been traced to the humanitarian and disaster efforts of the four countries in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, it was given a formal shape in 2007.

Sometimes referred to as “Asian Nato”, the Quad’s Indo-Pacific activities have dramatically grown over the last five years with an eye on China’s rising regional influence. 

“Now, we have others, too – we have Aukus, we have IPEF,” Saifuddin said, adding that China is also looking to grow links with the Pacific islands.

Aukus is the security partnership announced by Australia, the United Kingdom and the US in September last year, while the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) was launched in May this year.

Asean’s Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam are among IPEF’s 13 members, along with all Quad partners. – Bernama, June 20, 2022.