Brunei’s ASEAN Chairmanship

I have just got back from a meeting of British High Commissioners and Ambassadors in ASEAN countries, timed to coincide with this week’s ASEAN Summit.

We talked about the UK’s relationships with each member state, about our understanding of ASEAN as a whole, and about how our bilateral relationships with ASEAN countries – all strong, but all different – could add up to a relationship with ASEAN which was more than the sum of its parts.

That aspect has suddenly loomed large for me, as my host, Brunei Darussalam, is handed the baton by the Kingdom of Cambodia, and assumes the Chair of ASEAN.

Why is the UK so fascinated with ASEAN?Why do we seek to be seen as the international partner who “gets” ASEAN better than the rest of the international community?

One thing’s for sure: it’s not because we want to “tidy up” this part of the world, in the hope that dealing with a group of countries would be easier than dealing with them one by one.

On the contrary, our political leaders in London, including and especially the Foreign Secretary William Hague, revel in the diversity of South East Asia and have charged us to build lasting friendships with each country in the region.

Witness William Hague’s visit to Brunei in April;  and a follow-up visit by another FCO Minister, Hugo Swire, next month. Witness the Foreign Secretary’s attendance at the ASEM Summit in Laos this month, when he reopened the British Embassy in Vientiane – another signal of our commitment to each and every country of this region. (We now have a diplomatic mission in all ASEAN capitals.) Witness also the series of visits to South East Asia by Prime Minister David Cameron and members of our Royal Family, and State and Official visits to London by VVIPs from ASEAN countries.

This expenditure of effort by the UK is not because we hope – eventually – to be able to deal with ASEAN member states only as a block. It is because we value all ten relationships, and we think that as partners for the UK all ten will be better off if their ASEAN project flourishes.

And so, as Brunei takes on the Chairmanship of ASEAN, and my friends in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (and right across government and society in Brunei) rise to this challenge, I and my team at the British High Commission are rooting for you.

We are quietly confident that Brunei will discharge its responsibilities with professionalism and aplomb. Brunei may be small, but it has some of the region’s most experienced Statesmen at the helm. And the Abode of Peace – with its mastery of ASEAN’s official language (English), its courtesy and  matchless hospitality – is a specialist in these matters.

2013 is going to be a good year for ASEAN and a good year for Brunei. I am privileged to have a ring-side seat.

All that being so, I suppose the main lesson from this week’s brainstorm with my fellow Heads of Mission is that 2013 will also be a good year for the UK. ASEAN’s steady progress towards an Economic Community (AEC) will boost trade in both directions.

ASEAN’s highly educated and increasingly self-confident population will want more of the things which the UK’s innovative economy produces. And ASEAN’s member states will see that the UK rejoices in their success – the true test of friendship.