ASEAN’s importance and relevance is more apparent than ever: Australian Ambassador to ASEAN
WVR - On the occasion of ASEAN Future Forum in Vietnam, Australian Ambassdor to ASEAN Tiffany Mc Donald shared with the World and Vietnam Report about the signifcance of the Forum, the central role of ASEAN in changing world and Vietnam's contributions to the regional cooperations.
Latest
 |
| The ASEAN-Australia Summit in Melbourne, Australia, 4-6 March, 2024. (Photo: WVR) |
"ASEAN is unquestionably the most important"
When Australia became ASEAN’s first Dialogue partner in 1974, our then-Prime Minister Gough Whitlam said: “of all the arrangements in our region, ASEAN is unquestionably the most important, the most relevant”. As reflected in this year’s ASEAN Future Forum theme, we are living in a period of significant global transformations, with heightened tensions and geopolitical shifts.
It is crucial that we all protect and uphold international law to prevent conflict and safeguard sovereignty in our region. Each country – large or small – must operate by the same rules: rules that we have all had a say in shaping and international law that we have all agreed and committed to upholding. And when disputes inevitably arise, they must be managed in accordance with international law, and through respectful dialogue.
Australia sees ASEAN at the forefront of these efforts. It is the primary norm-setting body in our region and has unmatched convening power in the Indo-Pacific. It sets expectations of responsible state behaviour in our shared region and builds strategic trust.
ASEAN processes - bringging partners together
ASEAN’s importance and relevance is more apparent than ever, as was reflected by the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in January 2025 where they said “we are convinced that ASEAN can play a greater role in fostering a stable and predictable environment through adherence to principles of international law, mutual respect, and the peaceful resolution of disputes”.
Likewise, the 2023 ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Statement on Maintaining and Promoting Stability in the Maritime Sphere in Southeast Asia – which Australia welcomed – demonstrated ASEAN’s collective voice in expressing concerns about developments that threaten regional peace and security in the maritime domain.
Through the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), ASEAN is leading the way in shaping the principles to guide practical cooperation between ASEAN and external partners to advance peace and our region’s prosperity. The 2024 ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on the AOIP for the Future-Ready ASEAN reiterates the importance of the AOIP in the face of global and regional challenges.
As a founding member of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and East Asia Summit (EAS), and ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM+), Australia has always attached great importance to ASEAN processes that have brought partners together to discuss the strategic issues facing the region.
The EAS – which will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year – is the region’s premier leader-level forum for frank discussions on strategic, political, security and economic issues, and Australia will support ASEAN to further strengthen its effectiveness.
 |
| Vietnamese Foreign Minster Bui Thanh Son met with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on the sidelines of ASEAN-Australia summit 2024. |
Promoting strategic trust and a rules-based regional architecture
Last year, ASEAN and Australia commemorated the significant milestone of 50 years of ASEAN‑Australia relations. Our leaders gathered in Melbourne, Australia and agreed a Joint Vision Statement committing us to work together to promote strategic trust and a rules-based regional architecture, which upholds international law. Leaders articulated our shared objective of a region where sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected.
ASEAN centrality means that Australia will always think about our security in the context of the region’s security, and our prosperity in the context of the region’s prosperity. We know we will always be better off in a world where the rules – whether they govern trade or the maritime domain, or the environment or military engagement – are clear, mutually negotiated and consistently followed.
One very tangible example of Australia’s commitment to ASEAN’s role in regional peace and security is the series of workshops we have been holding in partnership with ASEAN on Conflict Prevention, Crisis Management and the ASEAN-led Regional Architecture. We held two workshops in 2024 open to all EAS countries, and look forward to continuing this work with ASEAN in 2025. Another example is an ongoing series of workshops on the AOIP and maritime cooperation as a practical initiative to implement and mainstream the AOIP.
It is a pivotal time for ASEAN as it crafts its strategic direction for the future through the ASEAN Community Vision 2045. History has shown that ASEAN draws its strength from unity and integration and a strong ASEAN is in Australia’s interests. As Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said, the strength of ASEAN’s collective voice “resonates throughout the region when it speaks on its view of the importance of sovereignty and rules”.
The next logical step then for the ASEAN-Australia relationship is for Australia to support ASEAN to implement the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and underlying strategies when they are released later this year. As a Comprehensive Strategic Partners, Australia is well positioned to be at the forefront of efforts to support ASEAN’s deepening community-building over the next 20 years.
 |
| Australian Ambassador to ASEAN Tiffany Mc Donald (left) with the Secretary-General of ASEAN Kao Kim Hourn. (Source: asean.org) |
Supporting Vietnam’s hosting of ASEAN Future Forum
This year Vietnam celebrates 30 years since it joined ASEAN, and in that time it has made significant contributions for the benefit of our region. The ASEAN Future Forum in Hanoi will serve as an excellent platform for high-level discussion among leaders, policy makers, academics and youth. Discussions will show ASEAN’s leading role in navigating the strategic and economic complexities and – most importantly, the opportunities – in the region we share. Australia welcomes Vietnam’s leadership on this important initiative demonstrating the integral role it plays within ASEAN, and we are proud to directly support Vietnam’s hosting of this key event.
Vietnam and Australia are trusted strategic partners, and our bilateral relationship is mutually reinforcing with our ASEAN engagement. During Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to Australia in March 2024 for the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit, our countries elevated ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, placing Australia in the top tier of Vietnam’s partners. This will complement Australia’s Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with ASEAN.
Australia is invested, engaged and committed to working with Vietnam and ASEAN to realise our shared vision for a peaceful, stable and prosperous future. We will continue to champion the effectiveness and resilience of ASEAN centrality, not only in our words but in our actions, including by implementing the new ASEAN-Australia Plan of Action for 2025-2029. Australia continues to be with ASEAN – every step of the way.
Multimedia
Infographics Photos Videos E magazine
