ASEAN-Australia Cooperation: Jakarta Summits
This is the second article in a four-part series focused on engagement between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Quad countries — the United States (US), Japan, India, and Australia — at various bilateral summits, the 18th East Asia Summit, and the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum held from 6-8 September. I parse through key speeches and statements to understand key areas of cooperation between ASEAN and the US, Australia, India, and Japan. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 20th ASEAN-India Summit, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida the 26th ASEAN-Japan Summit, US Vice President Kamala Harris — acting in President Joe Biden’s stead — the 11th ASEAN-US Summit, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese the 3rd ASEAN-Australia Summit.
Australia and ASEAN upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2021. In Jakarta, Prime Minister Albanese participated in the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum, where he expressed Australia’s commitment to deepening engagement with Southeast Asian partners. He also unveiled Australia’s strategy to boost trade and investment ties with Southeast Asia. The Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040 recognises ASEAN’s role as the centre of global activity and business and works towards increasing engagement with the region to match the pace of the growth of Southeast Asian economies. The report has four key priorities for investing A$95.4 million across key sectors like agriculture and food, energy security and the clean energy transition, infrastructure, education and skills in the Southeast Asian region:
Raising awareness — strengthening understanding of markets, sectors, and emerging trends
Removing blockages — addressing barriers to trade and investment
Building capability — ensuring that Australia and the Southeast Asian region have the skills and knowledge to work effectively together
Lastly, deepening investment — supporting Australian investors to identify, develop and finalise prospective deals in the region.
At the 18th East Asia Summit, Albanese discussed strategic issues with regional counterparts —including the Ukraine war, the Myanmar crisis, and the South China Sea. He also discussed working on shared challenges like the climate crisis. At the 3rd ASEAN-Australia Summit, he discussed regional food security pressures — in this vein, releasing a joint statement on ‘Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Response to Crises’ — discussing cooperation in this domain, including through the Aus4ASEAN Futures Initiative. Albanese unveiled two initiatives for regional food security — the first to support joint research between ASEAN and Australia to develop new agricultural practices and technologies that help this aim. The second to expand education exchanges for women in agricultural science.
Other initiatives included the $200 million Australia-Indonesia Climate and Infrastructure Partnership, focused — among other areas — on de-risking private infrastructure projects, supporting Indonesia’s sustainable finance and just energy transition, and establishing a bilateral mechanism to advance collaboration on the EV ecosystem under the Partnership.
ASEAN’s statement on the summit provides a comprehensive view of the areas under consideration for ASEAN-Australia cooperation. Here’s a brief run-down of the important aspects of the statement:
The statement notes Australia’s commitment towards ASEAN centrality — the idea that ASEAN is the centre and the driver of the regional architectural order — and that such an order is one that is open, transparent, and upholds international law
ASEAN welcomed Australia’s A$8.6 million towards supporting Timor-Leste’s preparation for membership of ASEAN and the World Trade Organization, as well as its aid towards supporting engagement with the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR)
ASEAN also welcomed Australia’s commitment of A$46 million under the Regional Trade for Development (RT4D) initiative catered towards supporting ASEAN Member States to realise the full benefits of an upgraded ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement
Australia’s commitment of A$5 million to the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) to support economic integration and sustainable and inclusive economic growth
Acknowledged Australia’s commitment to supporting ASEAN’s efforts towards regional economic integration through Australia for ASEAN Futures Initiative, and a range of other initiatives
ASEAN and Australia recognized global food insecurity amidst geopolitical tension and conflict, and noted the need for joint cooperation. The statement notes Australia’s role as an important agricultural exporter and the importance of ASEAN’s market to Australia’s food export
ASEAN also recognised Australia’s efforts across a range of areas: skill training programmes — and the contribution to ASEAN’s human capital for development; supporting and strengthening health systems and promoting health security in the ASEAN region, including aid towards the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED) and the ASEAN-Australia Health Security Initiative (AAHSI); cementing Australia-ASEAN people-to-people ties; cooperation on building capacity to respond to natural disasters, and support for ASEAN initiatives in this domain
Finally, on global security concerns, ASEAN and Australia expressed concern towards the militarisation and nuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula; commitment to peace and security in the South China Sea; expressing concern and deploring the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, and demanding its complete and unconditional withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine; concern towards the political crisis in Myanmar, and the ensuing humanitarian crisis.
