At present, its birthday is widely celebrated in the region and beyond offering a good opportunity to reflect on the place of ASEAN in the emerging multipolar world and more specifically – as far as Russia is concerned – on the role and perspectives of our partnership in this context.
In almost six decades ASEAN has gone a very long and, in a sense, unique way. Conceived on the wave of decolonization, it contributed to building strategic trust between its members, as well as to their economic and social development.
Over more than half a century of its existence, ASEAN has become not only a pivotal element in maintaining peace and stability in Asia-Pacific, but also one of the most rapidly developing integration formats in the world.
With its independent and balanced stance on pressing international issues, its courage and wisdom not to take sides and not to be anyone’s puppet, ASEAN evolved into one of the key regional groupings.
So far, it has been successful in tackling increasingly complex and diverse challenges, in preserving its unity and centrality.
Its growing global relevance and visibility can be measured in numbers: 96 Ambassadors are accredited to ASEAN; 57 States have become parties to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia with more countries wishing to join it.
For many years, ASEAN has been developing a vast and extensive network of external partnership that now covers all continents and includes 25 States with this status.
Cooperation with Russia forms an integral part of this network. Twenty years ago, at the first Russia-ASEAN Summit in 2005 in Kuala Lumpur we affirmed that our common goal was to “ensure the economic growth, sustainable development, and social progress of the Russian Federation and ASEAN, and to promote peace, stability, security, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific Region”.
For Russia, developing relations with ASEAN is an indispensable avenue of fostering our longstanding friendship with the countries of Southeast Asia.
With political contacts between us on the rise, only in last months our country has welcomed the leaders of Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam, every visit promoting joint work in different areas.
At the same time, deeply rooted in historical bilateral ties with the countries of the region contribute to our cooperation with ASEAN as an organization.
The positions of Russia, on the one hand, and ASEAN and its Member States on the other, are close with respect to many major issues of global and regional agendas. Hence the meaningful nature of our dialogue on international affairs.
We consistently support ASEAN centrality and its efforts to transform Southeast Asia into “a region of durable peace, stability, and sustainable economic development” as stated in the Charter of the organization.
One of the effective tools in this regard is the system of ASEAN-led structures through which the Association promotes its principles of equality, respect for the independence and sovereignty, consensus, inclusivity, trust and mutual benefit in a wider region. Those formats should not be merely “discussion clubs”.
Their main added value consists in providing mechanisms for charting common priorities and goals, as well as for implementing these plans. Obviously, attempts to focus on confrontation and politicized agenda undermine these efforts.
Our aim has always been to act here as a factor helping the countries of the region to retain and strengthen its stability and strategic autonomy, especially in our era of raising geopolitical tensions and economic fragmentation.
It is noteworthy that this Russia’s quest was acknowledged in our joint documents with ASEAN, including the statements of 2023 and 2024.
ASEAN represents an enormous integrated market with outstanding prospects of further development. At the present time, when global turbulence is spreading over international commerce and supplies, our economic interaction becomes even more relevant.
It is not surprising that the volume of mutual trade turnover between Russia and ASEAN registers a steady growth. Promising areas of our cooperation include the traditional ones (energy and food security, science and technology, tourism) and embrace new topics (digitalization, smart cities, etc.).
ASEAN and Russia are neighbors and partners in a world of undergoing tectonic changes. It can become more just, equal and safe only if the voices of the Global South are more powerful.
ASEAN should be one of the leading actors in this choir, while tuning with other players could help making its sound more cohesive and clearer.
Establishing closer links and comparing notes with platforms promoting the same values that operate on the Eurasian continent, such as BRICS, SCO, EAEU, could lead to a synergy in their efforts to shape a truly multipolar world.
Happy birthday, ASEAN!
*) Evgeny Zagaynov is the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to ASEAN
*) The views and opinions expressed on this page are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the ANTARA News Agency
Copyright © ANTARA 2025
