Latest news with #Asean-led
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Asean-US meeting strengthens regional defence cooperation, says Khaled Nordin
SINGAPORE: The multilateral meeting between Asean defence ministers, Timor-Leste, and United States Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth on Friday is expected to further strengthen regional defence cooperation, said Malaysia's Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue here on Friday. "The meeting served as a platform for Asean countries to exchange views on regional security challenges, especially in the Indo-Pacific, and to explore opportunities to strengthen defence cooperation with the United States," Khaled shared in a Facebook post. He also shared Malaysia's perspective as the current Asean Chair, highlighting two major regional issues — the Myanmar crisis and the South China Sea situation — during his meeting with Hegseth. "Solutions to these two critical issues must be led and driven by Asean through an Asean-led and Asean-driven framework," he said. Khaled also stressed the importance of all parties upholding Asean's core values and principles to ensure the continued security, sovereignty, and stability of the region. Meanwhile, during the meeting, Hegseth highlighted common security challenges and reaffirmed the US' strong commitment to the region, according to a statement by Singapore's Defence Ministry. He said that the US believed in practical cooperation and strong partnerships underpinned by shared values. The US would continue its engagement with the Southeast Asia region and enhance defence cooperation with Asean countries, including through the Asean Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus). Hegseth also raised cybersecurity as a key emerging domain for Asean-US cooperation, such as through the ADMM Cybersecurity and Information Centre of Excellence (ACICE).
New Straits Times
6 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Kuala Lumpur Declaration charts Asean's future path
Iylia Marsya Iskandar, Qistina Sallehuddin KUALA LUMPUR: Asean leaders aim to adopt nine commitments under the Kuala Lumpur Declaration, including the continued pursuit of peace, security, and development in the region. According to Wisma Putra, other commitments in the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Asean 2045: Our Shared Future include ensuring that the Asean Community continues to thrive and remains adaptive and responsive to the impacts and inherent opportunities of existing and future megatrends. The leaders also agreed to strengthen efforts to uphold Asean Centrality and to maintain an Asean-centred, open, inclusive, transparent, resilient, and rules-based regional architecture that upholds international law, including through Asean-led mechanisms. They reaffirmed their commitment to deepening and broadening cooperation with Asean's external partners, and to exploring cooperation with other interested parties through substantive, practical, and tangible collaboration on the four priority areas of the Asean Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), via Asean-led mechanisms. The leaders also pledged to ensure Asean's continued progress by reinforcing adherence to shared principles and commitments, strengthening institutional mechanisms, enhancing cross-pillar and cross-sectoral coordination, and proactively responding to challenges and opportunities. They reaffirmed their commitment to deepening economic integration, with the goal of becoming a single and future-ready economy that is nimble and resilient, anchored in sustainable growth and good governance. The vision includes building a globally competitive and seamlessly integrated single market by leveraging opportunities in the digital, green, and blue economies. Efforts will also be redoubled to enhance Asean connectivity, including advancing the Asean Power Grid, energy interconnection and multilateral power trade, and narrowing development gaps through inclusive, participatory, and equitable access to economic and socio-cultural opportunities. The leaders agreed to foster a stronger Asean identity and promote greater people-to-people connectivity through education, cultural exchanges, and social cooperation. They also committed to improving the quality of life and well-being of Asean peoples, ensuring no one is left behind. This includes strengthening social protection, enhancing health and nutrition, promoting inclusive and sustainable development, and advancing quality education and skills development for a future-ready Asean workforce. Finally, they agreed to continue integrating lessons learned from the implementation of Asean 2025: Forging Ahead Together as the region embarks on the next phase—realising Asean 2045: Our Shared Future—to effectively advance Asean Community-building over the next 20 years.
The Star
11-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Boosting Asean centrality
FOR too long, the Asean region has been policy-rich but institutionally poor. There is much to do with many policies for getting things done, but little by way of regional frameworks for doing them cohesively and comprehensively. Asean itself emerged after failed attempts at indigenously-led regionalism: the Association of South-East Asia (Asa) and Maphilindo (Malaya, the Philip-pines, and Indonesia). Since then Asean has succeeded admirably, but it has always needed to do more. This need is particularly clear in regional economics. For consecutive decades since Japan's economic miracle from the mid-1950s, East Asia, comprising North-East Asia and South-East Asia, has remained the world's most economically dynamic region. Yet while Europe has the European Union and North America had Nafta (North American Free Trade Agreement) and now the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, East Asia has no equivalent regional economic organisation. Despite growing challenges to East Asia's legitimate interests, there is still no dedicated institution for better regional coordination, synergy, and representation of shared interests. In December 1990 Malaysia's activist foreign and trade policies proposed an East Asia Economic Grouping (EAEG) comprising Asean countries and China, Japan, and South Korea. Conceived as 'a loose, consultative grouping', it was endorsed by most of the countries including China, but the US pressured Japan to stay out. Without the EAEG, the 1997 Asian financial crisis devastated the region. A particularly stricken South Korea then strongly advocated reviving the EAEG's Asean Plus Three (APT) framework. A slightly expanded version is Asean Plus Six (APS) which shares Asean centrality with the APT, but with Australia, New Zealand, and India. The APS is represented in the Asean-led Regional Compre-hensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), with India staying out for now. Calls are now heard for reviving the EAEG to work alongside the RCEP. Each can have its own focus while contributing to Asean centrality, without any unnecessary duplication or redundancy. Just as the 1997 Asian financial crisis had underscored the importance of the APT, rising US tariffs since 2018 can be a catalyst for the EAEG – it pays to turn economic adversity into greater prosperity instead. East Asia's current circumstances are the best yet for reviving the EAEG. It had been an Asean idea that Malaysia gave voice to a generation ago, and it should remain as much an Asean-led initiative today. Already, China, Japan, and South Korea are converging in North-East Asia. As expected, economics is the main theme for their convergence and the best means for overcoming their bilateral differences from a troubled history. This growing intergovernmental cooperation is supported by industrial collaboration. Toyota China for example has begun using Chinese automobile technology in such areas as autonomous driving and battery powertrains. The automobile sector is likely to see more regional collaboration, setting a trend for other sectors. After years of hesitation over electric vehicles (EVs) in which China is the world leader, Japan's Toyota Motor Corporation is proceeding in partnership with Chinese companies. An EAEG integrating North-East and South-East Asia would help regional promise and productivity immeasurably. Asean is a trusted, neutral and non-threatening agency that can help boost common regional fortunes with better prospects of peace and stability. The EAEG will be East Asia's first regional organisation if it materialises. From Asean at the core, an EAEG, the RCEP, and then the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) would form overlapping areas or concentric layers of trade cooperation to boost supply chain cohesiveness – with Asean centrality. Regional supply chains and markets need to be robust, resilient and closely integrated if they are to survive external shocks. Business climates thrive on confidence and is threatened by anxiety and uncertainty. Even the EU is revising its trade policies on China by improving relations, as a result of indiscriminate US tariffs. The East Asian region itself, comprising China and its neighbours, would be expected to do more. Since 2020, China's 'dual circulation' economic strategy emphasises domestic consumption to help cope with shortfalls in overseas demand. It has also prioritised 'new productive forces' with technology as an economic multiplier. Other East Asian economies can learn useful lessons from China's experience. South-East Asia's import substitution model for example may need to be tweaked if not transcended entirely when sanctions and high tariffs threaten. The immense benefits of closer regional integration include swift and seamless economic transitions in better protecting growth. China's size and vulnerability to foreign trade pressures have forced it to innovate considerably in economic policy, which can be instructive for other countries. East Asia may now be hunkering down to develop greater regional cohesion as a defence against involuntary trade restrictions. A logical consequence would be dual circulation applied on a regional scale. For years, successive US administrations have sought partisan support from South-East Asian countries, but a neutral Asean has refused to choose a side. Now the unwarranted and unwanted tariffs of April 2 may organically promote regional self-determination instead. Bunn Nagara is Director and Senior Fellow at the BRI Caucus (Asia-Pacific), and Honorary Fellow at the Perak Academy. The views expressed here are solely the writer's own.
Malay Mail
02-05-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Tony Fernandes sets sights on HKEX for Capital A's next growth push
KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 — Capital A Bhd is actively exploring a potential listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) as part of its strategy to broaden access to global capital markets and position its ecosystem of digital and aviation services businesses for the next phase of growth. Chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said that with over 20 destinations across Greater China and significant business exposure in the region, Capital A views Hong Kong as a natural capital market gateway. 'A dual listing would allow us to tell our story on a global stage and connect with a broader investor base that values digital-first, asset-light business models,' he said in a statement today. According to Capital A, the initiative follows a senior meeting with HKEX, during which the company was invited to explore the possibility of a listing in Hong Kong to tap into deeper global and Mainland Chinese investor pools, which are showing a growing appetite for Asean-led growth stories with strong China connectivity. 'Discussions are ongoing, and Capital A is close to appointing an international investment bank to advise on the proposed listing structure and timeline. 'Plans to initiate the formal process remain subject to internal assessments and regulatory approvals,' it said. Capital A emphasised that the HKEX remains a preferred venue for Asean companies seeking to scale globally, supported by rising Southbound Stock Connect trading and a more diversified investor base. 'Capital A will provide further updates as the evaluation progresses,' it added. The group noted that the potential HKEX listing is a natural progression following its ongoing PN17 regularisation plan, which it aims to complete by mid-2025. 'Upon exiting PN17 status, the group intends to pursue strategic initiatives to further strengthen its capital structure and global presence,' it said. Meanwhile, Tony shared that subsidiaries Teleport, Asia Digital Engineering (ADE), and AirAsia MOVE have gained strong recognition, presenting significant opportunities aligned with Capital A's ambition to accelerate growth, attract strategic investors, and maximise long-term shareholder value. Capital A's key portfolio includes ADE, a maintenance, repair, and operations provider serving airlines across Asia; Teleport, the region's fastest-growing logistics network; and AirAsia MOVE, a leading digital travel and lifestyle platform. — Bernama
