After two years of virtual celebrations due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this year's Asean Secretariat held an in-person celebration on Aug 8 at its headquarters in Jakarta to mark the Association of Southeast Asian Nation's 55th anniversary.
Established on Aug 8, 1967, Asean was envisioned to be a regional forum to promote stability in the region through political cooperation, trade and economic collaboration.
The theme of this year's celebrations was "Stronger Together", which echoed the theme Cambodia chose to define its chairmanship of Asean this year, "Addressing Challenges Together".
Since its founding, Asean has faced numerous challenges and disruptions to the global and regional order, as well threats to peace and prosperity -- most of which it has managed to resolve with its consensus-based approach.
To mark Asean's 55th anniversary, the Bangkok Post spoke with a number of Thai experts on Southeast Asia to gain an insight into how the bloc should evolve in light of the changing regional landscape, and how the kingdom can play a greater role in helping the bloc manage the change.
Proactive role
As the bloc moves towards the sixth decade of its establishment, Anekchai Rueangrattanakorn, a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University's Southeast Asian Studies Programme Graduate School, believes it is time for Asean to review its core principle of non-interference in the domestic affairs of its members.
While the bloc has so far managed to deal with crises without explicitly interfering with its members' political problems, strict adherence to the principle is stopping Asean from taking on a more significant role in the region, Mr Anekchai said.
He said Asean remains unable to stop its members from carrying out human rights violations, damaging the bloc's credibility on the international stage, while simultaneously undermining the region's stability -- citing the recent executions of four democracy activists in Myanmar for protesting against the junta.
"When it comes to state-sponsored human rights violations, Asean must reconsider applying the non-interference principle," Mr Anekchai said, noting Asean also needs to observe and honour human rights as enshrined in the UN charter.
"A reinterpretation of said principles will help Asean better respond to challenges in an adequate and timely manner in the future."
As for Thailand's role in mitigating the crisis, Mr Anekchai said the government should do more than just supplying refugees with humanitarian aid and periodically calling for peace negotiations.
Lacking unity
Meanwhile, Thammasat University's Policy and Development International Programme Director, Sorasich Swangsilp, said despite the dramatic growth in intra-regional and inter-regional cooperation over the past 55 years, Asean continues to lack unity among its members and people.
He said despite the best efforts of education institutions across the region to promote Asean by integrating lessons about the bloc into their curricula, citizens across Southeast Asia remain disconnected from Asean.
"The benefits of belonging in Asean should be better communicated to those at the grassroots level," he said.
"There should be more engagement with businesses, especially when it comes to development, education and training for communities and youths."
Mr Sorasich said in order to play a bigger role in efforts to promote Asean unity, Thailand needs to take advantage of its geographical location and close social ties with its immediate neighbours.
"Thailand could be a regional coordinator for Asean, which will help foster a stronger connection, not only at a government-to-government level, but also between businesses and people too."
Centrality 'key'
Separately, Aksornsri Panishsarn, a lecturer at Thammasat University's Faculty of Economics, said at a discussion organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Asean must retain its central role in the region, especially in periods of rising geopolitical tension.
Ms Aksornsri said in order for Asean to be better prepared for the future, the bloc and its members must realise that the world is a much more uncertain place.
With nationalist sentiments looking set to rise after the "closed" years of the Covid-19 pandemic, she believes Asean should play a role in promoting cooperation and unity.
Furthermore, she said Asean needs to start taking food security and public health, as well cybersecurity threats more seriously.
"This is important in a post-pandemic world because who knows when the next pandemic will happen," she said. "It could be worse than Covid-19."
She said while Thailand has abundant natural resources, the government hasn't made further food production chain development a priority.
"If Thailand places an emphasis on advancing its agricultural sector, it could become the leader in food production in the region," she said.
