EU and ASEAN: Turning 45 and stronger than ever

15 February 2022

Over the past 45 years, the EU and ASEAN have built links that make the EU the most comprehensive of ASEAN’s partners. In the context of increasing great power rivalry, EU-ASEAN relations play a pivotal role in the region bringing stability, reliability and opportunities. On this anniversary, we look forward to taking the Strategic Partnership to the next level. 1977 was an eventful year. Among other notable highlights, including the arrival of “Star Wars: A New Hope” onto cinema screens, it was also the year when the EU and ASEAN agreed to establish a special, unprecedented region-to-region partnership.

The rationale behind this decision was clear: to choose cooperation over confrontation, to build a world based on rules instead of co-existing in a world dominated by relative gains. Much has happened since. The EU is not what it was in 1977 and neither is ASEAN. Each organisation has followed its own path of integration and enlargement. International relations have changed too and the Cold War as we knew in the 1970s is no more. However, the rationale behind our partnership is as relevant as ever.

The EU is not what it was in 1977 and neither is ASEAN. International relations have changed too. However, the rationale behind our partnership is as relevant as ever.

Great powers’ rivalries, a fragmenting geopolitical landscape, polarisation, nationalism, and the prevalence of national interests over the common good are all posing a threat to an effective multilateralism and the pursuit of a cooperative global order. Moreover, as all of us are acutely aware, the protracted COVID-19 pandemic and climate change are posing new challenges to the way our countries and societies interact.

Over these 45 years of partnership, we have had our ups and downs — as is the case in any relationship. One thread has sustained our relations throughout those years, that of an ever-growing partnership, which provides multiple benefits for both regions and a precious asset of stability in often-volatile international relations. We, therefore, enter this commemorative year with confidence and a strong willingness to renew our vows.

A comprehensive and dependable strategic partnership

A few facts first. Over the last 45 years, the EU has become ASEAN’s most comprehensive partner — with technical dialogues (with ASEAN) in over 20 areas ranging from high-speed computing, environment and climate change, trade, science and research, human rights or maritime security — and the largest cooperation partner of ASEAN, with financial support unsurpassed by any other player.

The EU is ASEAN’s largest development partner supporting all three pillars of ASEAN integration, on subjects as far-ranging as trade support, forest governance, higher education and student mobility, disaster response, and sustainable use of peatlands, to name but a few. Many of our programmes’ acronyms, for example, E-READI, ARISE Plus, SHARE, have become familiar across ASEAN Member States and have a positive impact on people’s lives — something that we try to highlight in our annually published Blue Book.

While the pandemic has created disruption in supply chains and business operations, the EU is ASEAN’s third-largest foreign investor (after the US and Japan) and ASEAN’s third-largest trade partner (after China and the US). Meanwhile, the EU remains by far the largest investor in ASEAN countries. In 2019, the foreign direct investment (FDI) stocks into ASEAN accounted for EUR 313 billion. Although a more recent phenomenon, ASEAN investments in Europe have also been growing steadily and impressively to a total stock of over EUR 144 billion in 2019, a sign of maturing and increasingly interdependent relations. The two trade agreements which the EU concluded with Singapore and Vietnam will facilitate post-COVID recovery efforts.

Meanwhile, we are advancing our trade negotiations with Indonesia. And while the digital economy has boomed during the pandemic, building digital cooperation and partnerships between the EU and ASEAN will also become a major priority for the years to come. The current pandemic has shown how dependable partners the EU and ASEAN are. We know that to win the battle against this pandemic, it has been crucial to speed up the vaccination campaigns everywhere. The EU is proud of its record of support for pandemic and vaccination efforts, both globally and specifically for our friends in ASEAN. “Team Europe”, with EU institutions and EU member states working closely together, mobilised over EUR 800 million to support ASEAN’s fight against the coronavirus. The EU is also the biggest donor of COVID-19 vaccines in the world, as EU member states have shared more than 350 million doses for donation globally.

The importance of the Indo-Pacific

Responding to the evolving geopolitical context, the EU launched its new Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific on 19 April 2021. The Strategy is a recognition of the importance of the EU's engagement with the Indo-Pacific region, as well as the EU's stake in its prosperity and stability. The strategy builds upon the EU’s extensive engagement in the region that consists of bilateral and multilateral partnerships on a wide range of issues. As the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, stated, this strategy is as much about what we as the EU do in the region as it is about what we do with the countries of the region. The EU's renewed commitment is inclusive and open to cooperation with all partners on the basis of shared principles, values or mutual interests.

The strategy has identified seven areas as priorities: sustainable and inclusive prosperity, green transition, climate change, ocean governance, digital partnership, connectivity, security and defence, and human security. Recognising ASEAN centrality as a key feature, it offers a good foundation for developing synergies with the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and its four pillars on maritime cooperation, connectivity, UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and economic and other possible areas of cooperation, including digital economy, science and technology, and climate change. In the coming months, more discussion will take place on how to operationalise those latent synergies.

A big stake in security

The importance of the security dimension of our engagement in the Indo-Pacific is often overlooked. Take maritime security. As much as 40 per cent of the EU’s external trade passes through Southeast Asia in general, and the South China Sea in particular, further underlining the EU’s interest in the region’s stability. Given its stake in the region, the EU remains concerned by the continuing escalation of tensions around the South China Sea, including strong rhetoric, military deployments, and accompanying drills and tests.

While not taking sides in any of the disputes, the EU remains a principled actor, calling upon all sides to refrain from the threat or use of force or any provocative actions, and unequivocally supports dispute-resolution in accordance with international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). In this context, the EU continues to support the ASEAN-led process towards an effective, substantive, and legally binding Code of Conduct, which should not prejudice the interests of third parties. These positions are consistently communicated and confirmed after each new incident, such as in the vicinity of Thomas Shoal in late 2021.

Most, if not all, countries see the danger of a world in which the United States and China engage in strategic rivalry and even develop a new Cold War. According to a poll of officials and opinion leaders in ASEAN by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, a Singaporean-based think tank, the EU is the second most “preferred and trusted strategic partner” for ASEAN to broaden its strategic options in hedging against US-China rivalry, trailing just after Japan. We feel that demand for the EU as a predictable, rules-based actor in the region in all our contacts across the region.

The EU is an active participant and contributor to the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in the areas of maritime security, counterterrorism, and ICT security. Given the EU’s valuable operational experience, stronger EU involvement in ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus and the East Asia Summit could only be beneficial for all. The rapidly evolving international scene is leading us to focus more on key strategic issues, including addressing trafficking in persons, cyber-crime (such as the EU-ASEAN Statement on Cybersecurity Cooperation), and counterterrorism. In 2022, the EU will continue to promote its defence and security cooperation with ASEAN, including by organising several key activities.

Connectivity and climate

The EU and ASEAN have worked closely to improve connectivity for years, reflecting the unique experiences of the two regional integration projects. The EU has been a longstanding supporter of various aspects of ASEAN’s Master Plan on Connectivity, including trade facilitation, infrastructure, and people-to-people mobility. Many of our projects, such as ARISE+ and SHARE, have in fact become brand names. At the global level, the EU launched the Global Gateway strategy on 1 December 2021, updating the 2018 EU-Asia Connectivity Strategy with global geographic coverage, a revised sectoral scope, confirmed financial instruments (notably the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument, and a target of EUR 300 billion of investment by 2027.

Restoring connectivity within and between the EU and ASEAN will serve as a vital engine of post-pandemic recovery. In June 2021, following six years of negotiations, the EU and ASEAN concluded the Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement (CATA). As the first region-to-region aviation agreement — and the biggest agreement of its kind ever negotiated by the EU, binding together our 37 States — it will play an important role in re-connecting our people in the post-pandemic era. CATA will create new opportunities for aviation cooperation and increased air connectivity between our two regions, enabling closer trade and people-to-people links.

Tackling today’s climate crisis has become another major theme of our partnership. The EU and ASEAN have developed an ambitious work agenda. And the newly launched Green Team Europe Initiative and our Smart Green Cities project will allow the EU and ASEAN to develop concrete and tangible cooperation in ensuring a more sustainable future. Mobilising sustainable investments is also a key area of the European Green Deal, and in ASEAN we are supporting several initiatives to promote green economic policies, foster climate action, and mobilise additional funding, including co-funding for the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility with over EUR 780 million for financing low-carbon and climate-resilient infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia. To put it more simply: we are ready to work together to tackle this major challenge.

Building for the future

Our partnership with ASEAN is at the very heart of our policy in Asia. A strong ASEAN is in the EU’s interest. A strong ASEAN, at the centre of the regional security architecture, helps to ease tensions, provides stability for the region, and prosperity for its citizens. 45 years after embarking on this special region to region partnership, 2022 will give the political impetus to drive our relations further in a demanding and fast-changing environment. To mark this milestone, an EU-ASEAN Commemorative Summit will be held in Brussels. We look forward to writing the next exciting chapter of our relations together with ASEAN.

DISCLAIMER: All views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent that of the 9DASHLINE.com platform.

Author biography

Igor Driesmans has served as the EU Ambassador to ASEAN since 2019. He was previously a Member of the Cabinet of Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission. His responsibilities included Asia and Pacific, Cultural Diplomacy, Transport and Fisheries. He previously served as Principal Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer of the European External Action Service (2014), Desk Officer for ASEAN (2013-2014), and Deputy Head of the Political, Economic, Trade and Information Section of the EU Delegation to South Africa (2009-2013). Ambassador Igor Driesmans has been an official of the EU since 2003. He holds a Masters in History from the University of Gent (Belgium). Image credit: European Union, 2021.