Time to look not only beyond the headlines but also beyond the frontiers to an often forgotten part of the world – to ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations), which has now started the countdown to its Diamond Jubilee after celebrating its 59th anniversary this month with an event on which today’s column is based.
The ASEAN Day event at the ICBC downtown headquarters on August 13, attended by around 200 people, began with colourful Indonesian and Thai folk dancing. A lightweight intro, some might think, but of deeper symbolic significance than meets the eye. Firstly, it reflects the thinking of ASEAN ambassadors that it is time to start looking beyond the current focus on trade to deepening cultural and academic exchange with more travel between Argentina and their part of the world. Secondly, the female performers symbolised the growing role of women in South-East Asia (obviously beyond dancing and domestic life) – this was given living proof by the presence at the event of Malaysia’s brand-new chargé d’affaires Sijaya Abdul Hathi Jarin, the first woman to represent the peninsula here and just off the plane at Ezeiza that morning, plunging into her mission at the deep end.
Then came the speeches starting with some introductory words from the ICBC hosts as represented by Zhang Junguo chairing the bank’s board of directors – he accompanied his praise of ASEAN with implying that trade with the South-East Asian bloc and with China need not be mutually exclusive but quite the contrary.
Indonesian Ambassador Syarif Sulaiman (representing by far ASEAN’s most populous member with almost 300 million of its 700 million people) then spoke on behalf of the five ASEAN embassies here – also including Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Describing the partnership between Argentina and Southeast Asia to move beyond being a diplomatic formality to an “economic, political and strategic imperative,” Sulaiman insisted that shifting global supply chains and technology transition did not allow any country or region to navigate the future in isolation.
Jakarta’s man here then listed ASEAN’s priorities this year as “Peace and Security Anchors, Prosperity Corridors and People Empowerment,” driven by the key initiative of DEFA (Digital Economy Framework Agreement) aiming at taking Southeast Asia’s digital economy up to US$2 trillion by 2030. Turning to the Argentine-ASEAN commercial relationship, he pointed out that two-way trade consistently flirts with 11 digits in dollar terms, thus going toe to toe with China, while further pointing out that when inaugurating the Rural Society farm show last month, President Javier Milei had highlighted the enormous market potential of South-East Asia. Both sides of this relationship were complementary, Suleiman insisted, with Argentina offering food, energy, minerals and innovation in exchange for consumer electronics, auto components, rubber, and chemical products from ASEAN.
The envoy was followed by Rallys Pliauzer, president of the Argentine Chamber of Commerce for Asia and the Pacific, which helped to organise the event. He started with the birth of ASEAN in 1967 on the basis of an initiative of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, to be joined by six others in the following six decades (Brunei in 1984, Vietnam in 1995, Laos and Myanmar in 1997, Cambodia in 1999 and Timor-Leste [East] last October), quoting Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew as reflecting on “an unpromising start but with a very promising future.”
Pliauzer did not expand any further on this quote but for the benefit of readers unfamiliar with the region’s history, Lee’s “unpromising start” was doubtless referring to the then recent separation of Malaysia and Singapore in 1965, a trauma induced by the 1964 race riots in the former country against Malaysia’s huge Chinese minority (which includes Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh). The creation of ASEAN two years later in 1967 proved to be the antidote – this columnist is impressed by how, instead of going from bad to worse, this region was able to create unity out of division and harmony out of discord.
The pharmaceutical lab director then suggested that the challenge of the distance between two regions separated by the world’s biggest ocean should be embraced as “an opportunity to use the new technologies to generate new forms of approach and co-operation,” reaffirming his Chamber’s commitment to “continue building bridges between Argentina and ASEAN countries to promote dialogue, mutual acquaintance and new opportunities for trade investment and cooperation” towards a shared prosperity.
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|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| 0.47 million | 16.8 | 11.5 | 20.6 |
|
| 18 million | 52.4 | 31.7 | 66 |
|
| 287.9 million | 1,540 | 300.8 | 580.2 |
|
| 8 million | 19 | 7.8 | 16.4 |
|
| 36.4 million | 516.4 | 301.7 | 580.8 |
|
| 51.2 million | 83.8 | 16.8 | 39.9 |
|
| 117.7 million | 512.2 | 107 | 268.1 |
|
| 5.9 million | 659.5 | 978 | 1,764 |
|
| 71.6 million | 580 | 369 | 720.4 |
|
| 1.4 million | 2.2 | 2.3 | 3.5 |
|
| 102.2 million | 527.2 | 429 | 827.6 |
| TOTAL |
| 4,509.5 | 2,555.6 | 4,815.6 |
By far the longest and most detailed speech was then delivered by Fernando Brun, the Foreign Ministry’s Secretary for International Economic Relations. He described ASEAN with its population of 700 million and economy of over US$4 trillion as occupying a relevant place in the global chains of production, trade and investment … as one of the most dynamic regions in the world.” Argentina’s links to the region have roots, he continued, in the form of diplomatic relations with nine of the 11 ASEAN members stretching back half a century or more. Last year’s bilateral trade volume was US$10.3 billion with a surplus of US$1.2 billion for Argentina and exports of US$4.6 billion in the first half of this year with ample room to grow as representing under 0.5 percent of the ASEAN market. Last month the sanitary protocols for exporting beef to Indonesia were completed (the halal aspects were already covered a couple of years previously).
Brun also has high hopes from Argentina’s bid to join the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) already including four ASEAN members. He would also like to boost ASEAN investment in Argentina currently standing at around US$1.3 billion via the RIGI incentive scheme for major investments. Without overlooking the importance of tourism, education, culture and sport in building links, referring to the enthusiastic Southeast Asian support for the Argentine finalists in the recent World Cup.
The Foreign Ministry official did not mention the region’s culinary delights but these were not lacking after the ceremony – this columnist especially enjoyed his Massaman curry and satays, among other delicacies. Joined by other guests who included a dozen ambassadors (Australia, China, India, Kuwait, Morocco, Peru, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine) apart from the ASEAN envoys – Sulaiman, Jarin, Grace Cruz-Fabella of the Philippines, Thailand’s Tankanarat Krit and Vietnam’s Ngo Minh Nguyet.
Space now running short but hopefully the numbers in the table can replace words in spelling out the bare bones of ASEAN.
Finally, in order to prevent this column from being an ASEAN puff piece, a critical note is urgently needed at this stage. Easier said than done because while questions might be raised about some ASEAN members, they would not apply to others – for example, three ASEAN countries do not recognise Israel but the other eight do – so is there any point over which the entire bloc can be criticised? Yes, there is – none of the 11 ASEAN countries qualified for this year’s World Cup (which might account for the region’s frenzied support for the Scaloneta). But otherwise everything seems in focus as ASEAN progresses far and fast towards its Diamond Jubilee.