Will ASEAN Survive Until 2030?

Ambassador Bilahari Kausikan, University of Singapore; Former Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Singapore

Moderated by AIIA National Executive Director Dr Bryce Wakefield

Following on the heels of a number failed experiments in regional organization, ASEAN’s formation in 1967 was understandably greeted with more polite scepticism than support. It was probably expected to go the way of previous attempts at regionalism. It was not until the fall of Indochina in the mid-1970s and in particular after the 1979 Vietnamese invasion and occupation of Kampuchea (as Cambodia was then called) that ASEAN began to be taken seriously by external powers. 

Though now an accepted feature of regional diplomacy, ASEAN has nevertheless had to ride waves of perhaps over-high expectations and troughs when its relevance has been questioned. We are now in another trough when ASEAN ability to deal with the complexities of US-China strategic competition is in question, even though token and ritualistic obeisance is paid to the notion of ‘ASEAN centrality’. These oscillations represent persistent and fundamental misunderstandings about ASEAN that perhaps reveal more about the observer than the organization. 

The lecture will examine the sources of the misunderstandings, ASEAN’s strengths and weaknesses in dealing with the new era of heightened US-China strategic competition, and suggest roles that Australia in cooperation with other ASEAN Dialogue partners could play going forward.
 

Bilahari Kausikan is currently Chairman of the Middle East Institute, an autonomous institute of the National University of Singapore. He has spent his entire career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During his 37 years in the Ministry, he served in a variety of appointments at home and abroad, including as Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, and as the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry. Raffles Institution, the University of Singapore and Columbia University in New York all attempted to educate him.

This event is online only. After registering, on the day of the event you will receive a follow-up confirmation email containing further details on how to join the webinar. Registrations close at 5:40pm. (If you believe you have not received an email by 5pm please check your junk folder! A reminder will be sent at 5:45pm)

The event will start at 6pm AEST (Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne time, UTC+10).

All registrants may type questions via the moderated Q&A text feed.

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