Talking to Vietnam News Agency ahead of the Summit, scheduled to take place in Melbourne from March 4 to 6, Hal Hill, an emeritus professor at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University, said that Australia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) currently boast very good and close relations while sharing many common interests.
Their close geographical proximity also generates prosperity for Australia as a neighbour of a dynamic, open, and stable region, which is a positive factor, he said, perceiving that the two sides can completely be more ambitious for bilateral relations and exert stronger efforts for fruitful results.
Commenting on the special summit, Hill said ASEAN and Australia should issue strong statements about keeping the global market open for the sake of all parties. They can also make important joint statements appealing for a ceasefire in Gaza, calling for the settlement of and an end to the conflict in Ukraine, and stressing the urgency of climate change and the realisation of annual UN climate change conferences’ targets.
The two sides should set up a stronger base of knowledge about each other to deepen mutual understanding so as to resolve common global challenges, he went on, suggesting the summit establish a strong agency providing financial support to help their scholars, researchers, and high-ranking officials work together on big global challenges.
Besides, he added, as Australia is granting a relatively large number of scholarships to foreign students, including those from ASEAN countries, the two sides should launch a prestigious scholarship programme for students, with priority given to research ones.
The expert also recommended developing initiatives so that they can work with each other more closely and identify major issues they want to jointly address such as climate change, energy transition, and open market maintenance.
The Special Summit is considered a chance for the two sides to further enhance bilateral cooperation along with their commitments to the current ties and regional growth and success, but the challenge is how to ensure their statements are transformed into concrete and tangible actions, Hill added.
For his part, Greg Earl, a columnist on economic diplomacy for The Interpreter of the Lowy Institute, former member of the Australia - ASEAN Council and former Southeast Asia correspondent of The Australian Financial Review, noted the ASEAN - Australia relations have become more important over the last 50 years. Australia holds that its security and prosperity benefit from the peaceful relations and economic integration with the nearest Asian neighbours.
There are many areas in which the two sides can cooperate in the future, especially the management of the competition between superpowers in Asia, he said.
As small, or in some cases medium-sized economies, Australia and ASEAN countries can cooperate further in terms of economic integration by issuing common standards for products and skills so that their goods and services can flow in the region more seamlessly. Australia boasts many services necessary for the development of some ASEAN countries, who in turn produce a number of products and have a workforce essential to Australia.
The two sides will benefit from further economic integration to mobilise their economic strength for improving general economic growth, according to Earl.
