Indonesia, the current ASEAN chair, will host the first high-level ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum, alongside the ASEAN-related summits, on September 6th and 7th, according to an informed source.
The forum is designed to showcase ASEAN centrality and its Indo-Pacific framework, known as the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), which was completed and endorsed by ASEAN in 2019.
For the past three years, ASEAN has been trying to mainstream the AOIP, amid emerging challenges posed by new Indo-Pacific strategies put forward by the US and its allies. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the plan. There are altogether 11 frameworks that focus on multi-faceted cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
The Indonesian chair considers the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum as a flagship event, as it will be held alongside the East Asia Summit. The source said that leaders of ASEAN and its dialogue partners will take part in the forum. At last year’s East Asia Summit (EAS), leaders from the US, China, Australia, Russia, India, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea met with ASEAN leaders to discuss regional and international issues.
The AOIP’s priorities include maritime cooperation, connectivity, sustainable development goals (SDGs), as well as economic and other areas of possible cooperation. Japan and ASEAN have already signed a joint statement regarding cooperation on the promotion of their common plans and activities.
Notably, the Indo-Pacific strategies belonging to the US and Canada are hostile to China, as their strategies seek to contain it. Other Indo-Pacific strategies advocate close all-around cooperation with all countries in the region.
