Under the chairmanship of the Philippines, the 30th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit opened on Wednesday at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City with the theme “Partnering for Change, Engaging the World”. This is the third time for the country to host the regional meet, after it was held in Manila in 1987 under President Corazon C. Aquino and in Cebu in 2007 under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The bloc’s chairmanship rotates annually, in alphabetical order of the names of the 10 member-states.
The country’s chairmanship coincides with a historic milestone for the regional bloc—the 50th anniversary of the founding of Asean. Established on August 8, 1967, in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the Asean Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by its founding fathers, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, Asean has since matured into a community focused on economic integration and growth. The other members are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam.
When President Duterte accepted the country’s chairmanship of the 2017 Asean Summit in Vientiane, Laos, last year, he said the Philippines will highlight Asean as a model of regionalism and a global player with the interest of the people at its core. “We will pursue initiative and enhance cooperation with global partners to ensure Asean citizens live in peace, stability, security and growth,” Duterte said.
Indeed, the Philippines is ready to steer and guide the 50-year-old regional bloc. But crucial to the realization of Asean’s goals is the cooperation and support of all member-states and their dialogue partners. Priorities in this year’s summit include people-oriented and people-centered initiatives; peace and stability; maritime security and cooperation; inclusive and innovative-led growth; Asean resiliency; and Asean Economic Community (AEC) as model of regionalism.
The path ahead may bring another 50 years of prosperity, but Asean members need to fully harness their inherent strengths and collectively face unforeseen challenges. Asean counts among its strengths the region’s 630 million people, of whom more than half are under the age of 30. This presents a powerful demographic dividend that will sustain high rates of economic growth for years to come.
Currently, Asean is both the world’s seventh-largest market and third-largest labor force, and has been projected to become the fourth-largest economic bloc by 2030. The forecast came after the group established the AEC last year to create a single market and production base—facilitating even closer economic, political, social and cultural cooperation.
We look with excitement to the future as we celebrate Asean’s success for the last 50 years. On Saturday Duterte and nine other Southeast Asian leaders are scheduled to gather for the formal opening of the Asean Leaders’ Summit. The leaders are expected to tackle the progress of the implementation of the Asean Vision 2025 and the way forward, specifically Asean’s future direction. Discussions are expected to focus on closer cooperation and greater reforms to accelerate economic integration.
As Duterte said, “Our theme—Partnering for Change, Engaging the World—captures our resolve to consolidate our community for our peoples with the sense of togetherness and common identity, ready and able to take our rightful place in the global community of nations.”