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[KUALA LUMPUR] Asean must deepen and expand its external partnerships, especially in new growth areas, even as it steps up its own internal integration, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Monday (May 26).

Doing so will help the bloc build a more secure, stable and prosperous region amid an increasingly challenging environment, he said on the first day of the 46th Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur.

Noting that Asean was formed at the height of the Cold War, PM Wong said that while the circumstances are different, today’s great power rivalry feels like a “new Cold War”.

Touching on US President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs at a separate retreat session, PM Wong said: “The issue is really not just about tariffs, but a retreat from multilateralism and a move towards more transactional and bilateral deals, where unfortunately often it becomes might being right.”

In response, Asean should continue to “constructively engage” the US, both individually and collectively as a bloc, he said, adding that he appreciates Malaysia’s leadership in this regard.

The bloc must also strengthen its integration to ensure it has “the manoeuvring space and the agency to continue charting our own destiny forward”.

To achieve this, Asean must demonstrate value to its partners and reinforce its centrality, he said, suggesting three ways to do so.

Strengthening external partnerships

The first is to deepen its engagement with existing partners.

In the region, this includes China, Japan, South Korea and India. Further abroad, the European Union (EU), Australia, New Zealand and Canada are also “very keen to do more with Asean”, said PM Wong.

The bloc should engage them, particularly in new growth areas such as the digital and green economies, he added.

Second, Asean should explore new partnerships as Asia remains at the centre of global growth “despite all the issues that we face in the world”.

“We are still a region of tremendous dynamism and vitality, and there are many countries that would like to engage South-east Asia in a bigger way,” he said.

Even if some of these countries may not be ready to become formal partners, Asean should engage them “in specific areas where there is mutual interest”, he said.

The bloc should also explore “flexible configurations” for cooperation, as it is doing with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

At the retreat, he highlighted the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) as ways to engage both regional and other partners.

PM Wong noted that the EU and GCC are two important strategic partners, and strengthening Asean’s links with them through the CPTPP would be a “significant advantage”.

“If you look at all of us combined – Asean, CPTPP, the EU and the GCC – collectively, we make up a significant part of the world economy,” he said.

Third, Asean should enhance the value of its existing platforms, said PM Wong.

One way to do this is to implement the Asean Outlook on the Indo-Pacific in “concrete and practical terms”.

“This can help forge habits of consultation and cooperation, manage differences and prevent outright conflict,” said PM Wong.

He added that this must especially be done through the East Asia Summit, which brings together all the major powers with interests in the region.

“Although these platforms cannot solve all the issues, they help to foster collaboration and dialogue,” he said.

Further economic integration

PM Wong noted that there is still much more that needs to be done to strengthen Asean’s integration efforts, even though it has “achieved much”.

He said: “For example, we said that the Asean Free Trade Area is virtually tariff-free, which is very good. But why can’t we be 100 per cent tariff-free?”

Non-tariff barriers still exist, he pointed out, such as import licensing requirements and complex customs procedures that result in obstacles to more intra-Asean trade.

Beyond trading in goods, he called for more to be done to accelerate trading in services, “an important part of the economy”.

He also pushed for agreements to be implemented “in a timely manner”, noting that 24 economic agreements, some agreed as early as 2015, have still not entered into force.

“Clearly, there is still a lot of room for us to improve in terms of implementation, execution and strengthening our integration even in existing areas of goods, services and investments,” he said.

Asean also needs to step up integration in new growth areas such as the digital economy, he said.

While he is glad the enhanced Asean Power Grid agreement will be inked this year, he said there are still “key elements” of the power grid that need to be put in place, including a proper framework for subsea cables in Asean.

“Just as we are already familiar with telecommunication submarine cables, which link up our countries, there is no reason why we cannot similarly have a comprehensive framework to put together subsea cables for power, that links up Asean countries together,” he said.

Bilateral meetings

In the afternoon, PM Wong met three leaders on the sidelines.

Among them was Crown Prince of Kuwait Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah.

In a social media post, he said Singapore appreciates Kuwait’s generous provision of religious education scholarships for Singaporeans since 1980.

He added that Singapore is honoured to support the training of Kuwaiti civil servants, and that he looks forward to establishing stronger people-to-people ties and economic cooperation.

Both countries mark 40 years of diplomatic relations this year.

PM Wong had a fruitful meeting with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, he said in another post.

The leaders discussed global and regional developments, and the importance of a strong and united Asean in these turbulent times.

“The longstanding relationship between Singapore and Indonesia has served as an anchor of stability against geopolitical headwinds,” PM Wong said, adding that he looks forward to closer bilateral cooperation.

At a meeting with his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim, PM Wong said he congratulated him on chairing a successful summit, calling Malaysia an “energetic and effective” chair.

They “took stock of various bilateral issues” and will continue to work closely to advance Asean integration efforts, he said.

PM Wong added that he looks forward to welcoming him to Singapore later this week to deliver a special address at the Shangri-La Dialogue.

The day rounded off with a gala dinner hosted by Anwar.