Thayer ASEAN and The G7
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Carlyle Alan ThayerThayer ASEAN and The G7
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Carlyle Alan ThayerThayer Consultancy Background Brief:
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ASEAN and the G7
December 19, 2021
We request your assessment of the 1st ASEAN-G7 foreign ministers meeting and
Vietnam's expectations of this event.
ASSESSMENT
The Group of Seven, or G7, comprises the world’s leading industrial states: Canada,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom (UK) and the United States.
The inaugural meeting between the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers and the
Foreign Ministers from ASEAN member states was the initiative of the United Kingdom
as G7 Chair for 2021. The meeting was held by videoconference on 12 December 2021.
As noted in the Chair’s Statement, ‘all G7 members were now ASEAN Strategic
Dialogue or Development Partners, following the confirmation of the UK as a Dialogue
partner earlier this year.’
The G7 and ASEAN ministers discussed their shared interests across a number of issues
that may be grouped into seven clusters:
First, the ministers agreed to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific region that
included open markets, quality infrastructure, sustainable development, inclusivity
and regional stability. The G7 ministers reaffirmed their support for ASEAN Centrality
and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).
Second, the ministers agreed on the importance of the G7 and ASEAN working
together to meet global infrastructure development needs by mobilising financial
resources from the private sector, international financial institutions and multilateral
development banks. In particular, the ministers highlighted the importance of
developing ‘a pipeline of projects in partnership with the private sector to meet vital
infrastructure needs in ASEAN Member States.’
Third, the ministers stressed the importance of increased cooperation to combat the
COVID-19 pandemic. The G7 agreed to speed up the supply of COVID-19 vaccines and
to support the development of more effective vaccines to address future threats to
public health. The ministers also discussed how to ‘expand vaccine manufacturing
capacity through Covid-19 vaccines in ASEAN Member States.’
Fourth, the ministers recognised the importance of cooperating together to realise
the potential of digital, technology and cybersecurity. The G7 ministers suggested
working with ASEAN member states to support capacity building to counter cyber
threats.
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Fifth, the ministers discussed the South China Sea and agreed on the importance of
international law including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS). According to the Chair’s Statement, ‘We reaffirmed that the Convention
sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the ocean and seas must be
carried out…’ The minister also ‘underscored the importance of an effective and
substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea…’
Sixth, the ministers endorsed maritime cooperation between the G7 and ASEAN
member states. In perhaps the most significant outcome of the G7-ASEAN ministerial
meeting, the ministers endorsed ‘intensified cooperation in promoting maritime
security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight.’ The ministers also agreed
to address transnational crime at sea; marine sustainability; humanitarian assistance
to persons and vessels in distress at sea; combatting Illegal, Unreported and
Unregulated fishing; maritime connectivity and commerce; and marine scientific
research.’
Seventh, the ministers discussed the situation in Myanmar and expressed their ‘deep
concern’ at recent developments. They endorsed ASEAN’s Five Point Consensus and
supported the ASEAN Chair’s Special Envoy ‘to facilitate mediation of the dialogue
process’ by visiting Myanmar ‘to meet with all the parties concerned.’ In addition, the
ministers stressed the importance for the ‘voluntary, safe and dignified return of
Rohingya to their place of origin in the Rakhine State.’
The importance of the first G7-ASEAN ministerial meeting is that it engages ASEAN,
the leading multilateral association in Southeast Asia, if not the Indo-Pacific, with the
seven leading global economies from Europe, North America and Northeast Asia. This
forms a new framework for cooperation that is more efficient and capable of assisting
ASEAN than either bilateral strategic partnerships or large multilateral institutions like
the European Union or the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM). The G7 compliments these
other multilateral arrangements.
The Chair’s Statement ‘looked forward to closer cooperation between the G7 and
ASEAN, including through the existing ASEAN-led mechanisms.’ In other words, the G7
will play a major role in reinforcing ASEAN centrality and the role of ASEAN-led
regional mechanisms in the face of pressures from a more assertive China.
As for Vietnam’s expectations for the G7-ASEAN ministerial meeting, they were met.
The G7 leaders addressed a number of common challenges faced by ASEAN and
offered their support. This will bolster Vietnam’s bilateral diplomacy not only with G7
members but the European Union as well. This because Germany and France are
major powers in the EU. At the same time, United Kingdom-Vietnam relations will be
lifted
From Vietnam’s perspective the G7-ASEAN ministerial meeting was a very positive
development given the priority that Vietnam attaches to multilateralism, ASEAN-
centrality and the role of ASEAN-led regional institutions.
The G7 reinforced Vietnam’s COVID diplomacy of lobbying advanced economic states
to increase their donations of COVID vaccines equitably and transparently across the
world and to transfer technology so that vaccines can be produced locally.
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The G7 support for UNCLOS and its ‘strategic importance as the basis for national,
regional and global action in and cooperation in the marine sector’ was music to
Vietnam’s ears. In addition, the G7’s promise of intensified cooperation in maritime
security with ASEAN members would have been welcomed in Hanoi as well.
Suggested citation: Carlyle A. Thayer, “ASEAN and the G7,” Thayer Consultancy
Background Brief, December 19, 2021. All background briefs are posted on Scribd.com
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