When the hypothetical question of 'What if ASEAN is forced to disintegrate?' was raised at the Shangri-La Dialogue, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn responded: ASEAN will not take sides, but will continue to engage with all major partners.
According to the Lianhe Zaobao, the “Shangri-La Dialogue” is currently underway in Singapore. On May 30, during the interactive session on 'Priorities Amidst Asia's Shifting Strategic Landscape,' many participants focused on ASEAN's role and prospects amid intensifying major power competition.
Professor Medcalf of the Australian National University asked whether ASEAN has the capabilities for early warning, risk management, and even facilitating dialogue to avoid a major power conflict in the region.
Nikkei Asia commentator Hiroyuki Akita further questioned whether pragmatic cooperation and dialogue alone would be sufficient to maintain ASEAN cohesion as US-China competition intensifies; and asked what would be the most worrisome consequence if one day ASEAN were forced to disintegrate.
In response, Kao Kim Hourn reiterated that ASEAN will not take sides between major powers, but will continue to engage with all partners.
"We do not want to take sides; we must engage with all partners, including the US, China, Japan, South Korea, India, and the EU."
Kao Kim Hourn added that ASEAN would continue to promote mechanisms such as the East Asia Summit, ASEAN Regional Forum, and the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus, hoping that through dialogue and preventive diplomacy, the risk of miscalculation could be reduced and an arms race in the region avoided, especially as strategic trust declines and military expenditure rises.
● Small and Medium States Facing Pressure to Take Sides
The 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue opened on the evening of May 29 in Singapore. In his speech, Vietnamese President To Lam said that small and medium-sized countries are facing increasing pressure to be forced to take sides.
The annual 3-day 'Shangri-La Dialogue' is being held in Singapore. China’s Minister of National Defense Dong Jun has been absent for the second consecutive year; Beijing sent only a delegation headed by Meng Xiangqing, a professor at China's National Defense University, mainly composed of PLA experts and scholars.
Most other countries sent their defense chiefs, including US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles, as well as defense ministers from France, the UK, Malaysia, the Philippines and others, who all attended.
The Shangri-La Dialogue, organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) of the United Kingdom, was established in 2002 and named after its annual venue, the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore. This year’s conference will continue until May 31.