ASEAN–EU Cooperation: Present and Future Indonesia and the South–South Cooperation

Dang Minh Duc

Looking back at the history of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), we can realise that, after gaining independence, many Southeast Asian nations had an intention to found a regional organisation for accelerating economic, scientific, technical, and cultural cooperation and minimising the impacts made by world and regional powers. ASEAN has since experienced ups and downs but finally showed its great vitality. The expansion of ASEAN covering entire Southeast Asia was marked by the establishment of the ASEAN Community in 2015, demonstrating its advantage and effectiveness. At present, ASEAN is a regional organisation consisting of ten member nations and covering more than 4.5 million km², with a population of more than 649.1 million people and a GDP of almost USD 3,000 million in 2018.1 The ASEAN Community was established not only for strengthening internal cooperation within the region but also for creating a solidarity bloc to cope with external challenges.

Since dialogue relations were formalised between ASEAN and the European Union in July 1977, followed by the ASEAN–EEC Cooperation Agreement signed on 7 March 1980, the cooperation between ASEAN and the European Union has been highly prized by both regional organisations. The cooperation agreement between ASEAN and the European Union was set up on three major pillars: political and security cooperation, economic cooperation, and sociocultural cooperation.

For ASEAN, there were three reasons for strengthening its cooperation with the European Union. Firstly, the European Union was the second-largest market for export from ASEAN at that time. Secondly, the European Union was a counterbalance to other major partners in the world, such as Japan, China, and the United States. Finally, ASEAN was afraid that its position would be less significant if the European Union strengthened relations with other regions in the world.

The European Union, for its part, paid great attention to ASEAN’s economic potential and was afraid of being excluded from Southeast Asia due to the dynamism of other powers in the region. Thus, the EU hoped the cooperation with ASEAN would “create a new dynamic in the EU–ASEAN relations” and it was “the very key point.”2

The cooperation between the two regions is run according to the following mechanism: ASEAN–EU Ministerial Meetings (AEMM) are convened biennially; ASEAN–EU Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) Meetings are held regularly; ASEAN Post Ministerial Conferences are held annually, immediately after the ASEAN–EU Ministerial Meetings, in order to ratify the frameworks of dialogue and cooperation initiated by ASEAN; and, ASEAN–EU Senior Officials’ Meetings (SOM) are held for specialists from various sectors of the two regions. In addition, multilateral forums, such as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC) 10+1 have also been held. Now, let us have a brief overview of the recent ASEAN–EU cooperation.

POLITICAL COOPERATION

At present, ASEAN is facing a number of challenges, both internal and external. There are still some disagreements between member nations, which may reduce the power of the bloc. One such example is Indonesia’s insistence on strengthening inclusive dialogue and dealing with regional issues within the framework of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM), the East Asia Summit (EAS), and the Free and

Open Indo-Pacific policy.3 The most outstanding external challenges are disputes over territorial sovereignty. Together with China’s increased trade and investment cooperation with the ASEAN region, complicated conflicts over the South China Sea and maritime transportation have also been taking place between China and some member nations of ASEAN, making tensions become higher. The challenges ASEAN faces are getting bigger with the intervention of the United States, Japan, Russia, Australia, and India in regional issues. It is, therefore, necessary for the ASEAN to be proactive in strengthening regional cooperation, completing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and the Code of Conduct (CoC), developing multilateral cooperation, respecting international law, and maintaining regional peace and security.

Comparing the role played by the European Union with that played by China, Japan, the United States, and India in implementing strategies in the region, we can see that the European Union has not paid such special attention to ASEAN as other powers in the region, especially China. This inattention is shown by the slowness in performing action plans and the bureaucracy in setting ambitious and impractical targets, and it was demonstrated more obviously by the division within EU member countries about the cooperation with China. Italy and other member countries in Central and East Europe have eagerly been cooperating with China on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI 17+1 Initiative). On the contrary, French President Emmanuel Macron argues that the European Union should limit its cooperation with China and Beijing has the ability to use economic instruments for political ends.4

The moderate attention paid by the European Union to ASEAN is also reflected by its documents and policies on the region. After almost a decade, in 2003, the European Union adopted a particular strategy on ASEAN titled A new partnership with Southeast Asia. The strategy was aiming for a modest goal, which was “to improve the relations and become closer to ASEAN.” Meanwhile, the European Union and China had already started a comprehensive strategic partnership. In 2012, the European Union acceded to ASEAN’s Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) and adopted the Plan of Action to strengthen the ASEAN–EU enhanced partnership.5 On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN–EU relations in 2015, the European Union confirmed the adoption of a new strategy on its strategic partnership with ASEAN via a joint communiqué of The EU and ASEAN: a partnership with a strategic purpose, 6 which it had done with China and India more than a decade earlier. At the ASEAN–EU Post Ministerial Conference held in August 2017, both sides agreed to adopt the ASEAN–EU Plan of Action for the period from 2018 to 2022. At the meeting of ASEAN–EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs in January 2019, both sides confirmed the goal of forming a comprehensive partnership between the two regions.7 Thus, a number of statements and joint communiqués have been issued by the European Union and ASEAN, but they are considered as a mere formality and have not resulted in clearly visible effects, especially in terms of the EU’s political and security influence in Southeast Asia. Regarding the disputes over the South China Sea, for example, the European Union considered ASEAN to play a central role in the regional security structure. However, the EU took too much time to proclaim in 2019 that it would provide full support for the processes in the region directed by ASEAN to promote a regional order according to the international principles and to strengthen multilateral cooperation and closer cooperation with third parties. In the proclamation, the European Union emphasised its commitment to a legal order over the seas and oceans, in accordance with the international law on maritime security and cooperation as well as the freedom of air and sea navigation, for the benefit of all nations.8

The ignorance, or, in other words, the fact that the European Union has not considered ASEAN a strategic priority, was just one of the reasons for the slowness in the EU–ASEAN relations. Although the European Union admits that it has strategic interests in its relations with ASEAN

because ASEAN plays a central role in building a regional security order in the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean, some scholars point out that “despite the European Union’s economic weight in Asia, Europe does not enter regional countries’ strategic calculations to the same degree as the United States does” and “a long-term European strategy towards ASEAN, as a key piece in the Asian puzzle, is missing.”9 They also suggest “the European Union can and should step up its security cooperation with ASEAN, and that it needs to demonstrate political interest and solid engagement the way the US has been doing in recent years,” and “[a]n impactful and mutually beneficial way to do this is through enhanced cooperation on the non-traditional security (NTS) fronts of counter-terrorism and disaster relief.”10

ECONOMIC COOPERATION

The European Union confirms its support for the central role played by ASEAN and considers ASEAN as an important partner sharing a lot of interests and strategic visions.11 At present, the European Union is the third-largest partner in ASEAN’s trade with a total two-way trade turnover of EUR 237.3 billion in 2018, an increase by 8.1% compared with figures in 2017, which accounts for 14% of the total trade turnover of ASEAN. According to trade figures in 1995, the European Union’s import from ASEAN amounted to EUR 33,355 million and its export to ASEAN totalled EUR 33,991 million.12 The European Union’s export to ASEAN mainly consists of chemicals, machinery, and means of transport. Meanwhile, ASEAN’s export to the European Union mainly includes machinery, means of transport, agricultural products, textile, and garment products. The European Union is the biggest foreign investor in ASEAN with a total FDI of EUR 337 billion in 2017, while the corresponding figure of the ASEAN’s investment in the European Union was EUR 141 billion.13

The growth rate of the entire ASEAN region has been fairly high for the period from 2010 to 2018, reaching 5.3% on average. This has made ASEAN become an active economic region, attracting investment from various countries all over the world. Based on the indices of market openness, the increased rate of commodity trade, the development of services, and the inflow of investment, ASEAN is viewed as an open economic region with a trade turnover of USD 1.3 thousand billion which makes up 57% of its GDP. ASEAN’s export turnover accounts for 7% of the global export turnover. Based on its GDP, ASEAN as a whole is predicted to rank as the fifth-largest economy in 2030 and the fourth-largest economy in 2050.14

In 2018, the European Union became ASEAN’s second-largest trade partner after China. The import from ASEAN accounts for 11% of the total import of the European Union, while its export to ASEAN accounts for 14% of its total export.15 The European Union remains the top investor in ASEAN, although the proportion of investment from the European Union to the total investment in ASEAN decreased, as investment from other ones increased (investment within ASEAN member countries increased from USD 6,000 million to USD 26,000 million over a period of three years). Bilateral trade and investment between ASEAN and the European Union have steadily been growing over the past decade. On the other hand, ASEAN as a whole represents the European Union’s third-largest trading partner outside Europe (after the US and China).16

In the past, ASEAN was only a “weak” partner of the European Union for business in raw materials. However, over time, a miraculous change was introduced in its production, making ASEAN the tenth-largest exporter in the world. Owing to its geostrategic position, a population of more than 649.1 million, and a GDP predicted to be the fourth largest in the world by 2050,17 ASEAN is considered as the most attractive region of Asia that draws the attention of the whole world. On the other hand, ASEAN has improved its own economic integration, creating an impetus for economic openness and further integration with other countries and regions in the world. Many free trade agreements have been negotiated and signed; specifically, ASEAN has signed Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA) with five partners, including

TRADE AND INVESTMENT

WORKING TOGETHER, THE EU AND ASEAN ARE A GLOBAL ECONOMIC FORCE.

EU IMPORT FROM ASEAN (2018) EU EXPORT TO ASEAN (2018)

140.3 BILLION

EU–ASEAN MERCHANDISE TRADE HAS ALMOST DOUBLED

2008 2018

137 BILLION 237 BILLION

THE EU IS ASEAN’S 2ND LARGEST TRADING PARTNER

2 1

3

LARGEST TRADING PARTNER OUTSIDE OF EUROPE

2 1

3

96.9 BILLION

EU–ASEAN TRADE IN SEVICES HAS MORE THAN DOUBLED

2007 2017

40 BILLION 88.3 BILLION

Others 33.6%

THE EU REMAINS THE BIGGEST PROVIDER OF EXTERNAL FDI IN ASEAN

ASEAN member states 15.8%

South Korea 4.2%

United States 5.3% Hong Kong EU 14.2%

ASEAN IS THE EU’S 3RD

6.6%

Japan 13.7%

China 6.6%

China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, while fifty free trade agreements have been signed between ASEAN member nations and non-ASEAN nations, and twenty-three multilateral agreements have also been signed, for example, the ASEAN–Australia–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA), the United States–Singapore Free Trade Agreement, the South Korea–Singapore Free Trade Agreement, or the Japan–Singapore Free Trade Agreement.

The above has led to a tendency that, now, many countries start to aim at building a strategic partnership with ASEAN, which shows the geopolitical shift of the world power towards Asia in general and ASEAN in particular. Since the European Union did not want to “miss the Asian train” or lose its influence in the region relative to other world powers, it had to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN with a view to making a positive change in the quality of the relations between the two blocs in the coming time. In the ASEAN–EU Plan of Action (2018–2022), 18 the development of connectivity and cooperation between ASEAN and the European Union is a key issue in which both sides are very interested.

Obviously, we should not recognise the achievements of ASEAN exclusively from an economic perspective—it is also necessary to make assessments of ASEAN’s capacity for performing community commitments from political, security, and social perspectives. ASEAN has made every effort to promote peacebuilding in the region for the past two decades; the member nations of ASEAN have held and participated in forums on issues in Southeast Asia, in which ASEAN played a central role together with powers inside and outside the region.

The support programmes provided by the European Union for ASEAN greatly contributed to networking, capacity-building, institutional improvement, knowledge dissemination, and the transfer of European management practices to Asia.19 ASEAN has made outstanding achievements, partly owing to the support provided by the European Union, in all areas including poverty reduction, gender equality, natural disaster prevention, environmental protection, and struggle against terrorism, smuggling, and epidemic diseases such as SARS, H5N1, and SARS-CoV-2. Based on the support programmes, ASEAN has found a common voice to negotiate and to discuss policy-related issues with the European Union for quality improvement. The programmes built by both sides have played a role as a guide in capacity-building, knowledge exchange, and information sharing between public and private sectors. This type of cooperation has been highly appreciated and recognised typically as a symbol of EU–ASEAN cooperation.

PROSPECTS OF THE EU–ASEAN COOPERATION

The peace within and the stability of ASEAN will positively affect the entire region and the world, as well. To achieve it, it is necessary to steadily strengthen cooperation in economic growth, investment, poverty reduction, sustainable development, peace-building, crime control, conflict prevention, civil society promotion, management transparency, and regional and international integration. Those are also criteria that the European Union has pursued in its relations with ASEAN since 1994. Recently, on 19 September 2018, the European Commission adopted a strategy entitled Connecting Europe and Asia—Building blocks for an EU Strategy. 20 It was the second time in the history of relations between the two continents that a comprehensive strategy had been built by the European Union towards Asia (the first time being when the new Asia strategy21 was adopted in 1994). It also reflects the competition with other rivals in the world as the EU strives to protect its interests and influence in Asia.22 The strategy emphasises the partnership of the European Union with China, Japan, India, and the member nations of ASEAN and ASEM. Regarding ASEAN, the European Union only focusses on economic relations, aiming for a free trade agreement with the whole bloc.23

Many achievements have been made in the ASEAN–EU cooperation during recent years, especially in the economic, security, and

diplomatic spheres. What are the prospects of the relations between the two blocs in the coming period? It is clear that both blocs, especially ASEAN, have to make more efforts to harmonise common regional interests with the individual national interests in their relations with the European Union. Here is a short list of some major factors that can pose obstacles to ASEAN’s relations with the European Union in the coming period.

The European Union and ASEAN are geographically far from each other with completely different conditions in terms of climate, natural environment, history, ideological foundations, economic practices, cultural identities, social characteristics, organisational models, and management mechanisms. The differences in culture and awareness between the two continents are huge, resulting from their distinct conceptions of democracy, human rights, inequality, and good governance. These are strong obstacles to building relations between the European Union and ASEAN. For the foreign policy of the European Union, an important task is to disseminate values, including democracy and the rule of law, which are seen as the quintessence of Europe, to the world. Thus, in all relations it has, the European Union always requires obligatory provisions relating to democracy, human rights, and transparent management. Meanwhile, the history and values in Asia are different, so it is really difficult to fulfil those provisions.

Besides, the wide gap in economic development, as well as historical, cultural, and political differences inside ASEAN are the most important factors hindering the development of the relations between the European Union and ASEAN. In 2018, GDP per capita in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand was USD 64,575, USD 10,041, and USD 6,737, respectively. Meanwhile, that in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar was just USD 2,390, USD 1,402, and USD 1,249, respectively.24 This makes it hard to promote developing relations between the European Union and ASEAN, especially in economic cooperation. There are many causes for the failure of the negotiations between the European Union and ASEAN over a regional free trade agreement, but one of the most important ones is the above-mentioned discrepancy. Although differences in development and economic capacity among the member nations of ASEAN have been recognised and taken into account by the European Union, the negotiations on the regional free trade agreement were terminated, while negotiations started over separate free trade agreements with each member nation of ASEAN.

For the European Union, the influence of China with the Belt and Road Initiative’s (BRI) 17+1 format has resulted in a large number of issues of which the severest is the risk of a Europe divided into two camps, with some member states challenging the rules of the European Union. The Connecting Europe and Asia—Building blocks for an EU Strategy, promulgated by the European Commission in September 2018, is aiming at developing economic interests on the one hand and strengthening the EU’s influence in Asia on the other. In Asia, the European Union has signed its free trade agreements with Japan and South Korea and is carrying out negotiations with India, Australia, and New Zealand. In ASEAN, it has signed free trade agreements and investment protection agreements with Singapore and Vietnam. The negotiations with Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia are still ongoing. Vietnam is considered as one of the top partners of the European Union in Southeast Asia. The EU, therefore, pays special attention to promoting a comprehensive partnership in all areas with Vietnam.

The particular—loose, unofficial, and “ASEAN mode”25—link between its member nations has helped ASEAN to overcome many sensitive issues and its member states to cooperate within the bloc. However, it has proved to be a weakness in promoting regional integration, in strengthening regional cohesion, and in developing the international relations of the region. Over the past few years, there have been many problems occurring in the region which demonstrate this shortcoming in the cooperation between ASEAN member nations.

Such a relation makes it difficult for the region to develop international connections and cooperation rapidly, as is the case with the European Union.

The following examples point out the problem of ASEAN not becoming a region of closer bonds, which would help it make further achievements in all spheres, including its relations with the European Union. The first example is related to the free trade agreement with the European Union. The European Union wants to reach a free trade agreement with ASEAN as a whole, but this aspiration still remains unfeasible. The failure of the negotiations for an interregional free trade agreement between the European Union and ASEAN clearly shows the selfishness of ASEAN member nations.26 When encountering difficulties in the negotiations, the member nations did not actively work together to find solutions; instead, they hastily started to arrange bilateral negotiations with the European Union so as not to miss an opportunity for paving the way for their own cooperation. The second example is related to a political issue. When China raised territorial claims over the South China Sea, violating the independence and sovereignty of some member nations of ASEAN and running the risk of armed conflicts in the region, ASEAN member nations did not gather to protect one another; instead, some member nations took actions in favour of China due to their economic interests. This episode, again, clearly shows the division within ASEAN.

VIETNAM IN THE PROSPECTS OF THE EU–ASEAN COOPERATION

The relations between Vietnam and the European Union were officially established in 1990. At present, there are dramatic changes in Asia Pacific and in the world, as well. China is rising rapidly with an ambition of re-establishing the world rules. It has been using the Belt and Road Initiative and other tools of “soft power” to exert influence on various countries in Asia, Europe, and Africa in the hope of making those countries more dependent on China. The world powers are inclined to set up trilateral and quadrilateral cooperations, such as the quadrilateral dialogue, also called “strategic diamond,” between the United States, Japan, India, and Australia.27 Besides, other models of relations such as the quadrilateral relations between the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Australia, the trilateral relations between the United States, Japan, and Australia, and the trilateral relations between Russia, India, and China have also been promoted. Meanwhile, the ASEAN Community was established in 2015, and its significant position has since increasingly been proved by its relations with world powers and regional institutions. This demonstrates that the ASEAN Community has a significant role in shaping regional and world powers’ strategies.28

Since 1995, Vietnam has brought about deep and effective integration in ASEAN, playing a role as an important gateway to the association. In the second decade of the 21st century, the relations between the European Union and Vietnam have entered a new stage. In addition to strengthening and deepening cooperation in traditional sectors, that in new fields such as the political sphere and security has also been set up, resulting in outstanding achievements. Recently, on 17 October 2019, the European Union and Vietnam signed a Framework Participation Agreement (FPA) facilitating the participation of the country in the EU’s crisis management operations, making Vietnam become the first nation of ASEAN, the fourth nation in Asia, and the 19th nation in the world to sign an agreement on defence and security cooperation with the European Union. The agreement will facilitate Vietnam’s participation in and contribution to the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions and operations.29

As for economic cooperation, the bilateral trade turnover has increased rapidly for the past two decades. The annual average turnover amounted to EUR 45.1 billion. Since 2016, the European Union has been the secondlargest market of Vietnam’s export after the United States. Meanwhile, Vietnam has also become the second-largest trade partner of the European Union in Southeast Asia and ranked higher than Malaysia—but lower than Singapore,

whose trade turnover with the European Union reached EUR 48 billion. Goods exported by Vietnam to the European Union mainly consist of textile and garment products, shoes, coffee, seafood, computers, and phone accessories. In 2018, export to the European Union accounted for 17% of the total export value of Vietnam.30 Bilateral trade between Vietnam and the EU increased 2.3 times between 2011 and 2019, from USD 24.4 billion to USD 56.44 billion.31 Vietnam always runs a trade surplus in its trade with the European Union, owing to trade incentives provided by the European Union for ASEAN, including Vietnam, and advantages created by the framework of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between the European Union and Vietnam.

The European Union’s investment in Vietnam has increased rapidly for the past years. From 2010 to 2017, the annual investment capital amounted to USD 800 million on average. In 2019, there were 2,244 FDI projects carried out in Vietnam by investors from the European Union with a total capital of USD 24.67 billion, excluding large projects carried out by other nations or territories as third parties. As a result, the European Union became the fifthbiggest investor in Vietnam.32 The fact that both Vietnam and the European Union have particular economic and trade advantages to supplement each other and to create opportunities for bilateral cooperation is considered as an important factor for the above-mentioned cooperation development.

The bilateral relations were strengthened more after the European Union–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the European Union–Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) had been signed on 30 June 2019. Both agreements were ratified by the European Parliament on 12 February 2020. They can be seen as historic agreements that will hopefully raise the relations between the European Union and Vietnam to a new level. The implementation of the EVFTA will improve Vietnam’s competitiveness and will result in “guiding” effects, providing more opportunities for Vietnam in the ASEAN Economic Community

1972

First Ministerial Contact 1972 First Ministerial Contact

1977 Formal Dialogue Relations established 1977 Formal Dialogue Relations established

1980 Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) established 1980 Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) established

2007 Nuremberg Declaration on Enhanced Partnership 2007 Nuremberg Declaration on Enhanced Partnership

2012 EU Accession to Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) 2012 EU Accession to Treaty of Amity Bandar Seri Begawan Plan and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) of Action 2013–2017 Bandar Seri Begawan Plan of Action 2013–2017

2015 ASEAN Community established 2015 ASEAN Community EU Mission established to ASEAN established EU Mission to ASEAN established

2017 40 Year Anniversary 2017 ASEAN–EU Plan 40 Year Anniversary of Action 2018–2022 ASEAN–EU Plan of Action 2018–2022

2019 Agreement in Principle to Establish a Strategic Partnership 2019 Agreement in Principle to Establish a Strategic Partnership

and leading to other free trade agreements in the regions of ASEAN+.

Over twenty-five years, since Vietnam became a member of ASEAN in 1995, the country has contributed to the general development of ASEAN in all the political, security, economic, cultural, and social spheres. In 2020, Vietnam is undertaking the ASEAN Chairmanship and is a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020–2021 terms, which will provide Vietnam with an opportunity to implement new foreign policy. Holding the ASEAN chairmanship, Vietnam has chosen the theme “ASEAN cohesion and proactive adaptation,” aiming at promoting the ASEAN power by uniting and strengthening the solidarity of all member nations, including the close link in economic development and community-building and the link of every member nation with the ASEAN community in the process of peoplecentred development.

During the period when Vietnam is holding the ASEAN chairmanship, it will accelerate building relations between ASEAN and the European Union and will promote new networks of international relations. Vietnam and the European Union will share a common concern about the institutions of global administration, strengthening further cooperation in coping with global and regional challenges such as climate change, terrorism, epidemics, and promoting cooperation in peace-building, conflict resolution, economic connections, environmental protection, as well as other spheres such as energy, sciences, and technology. Vietnam, together with ASEAN and the European Union, will continue to give priority to cooperation in economic development on the principle of trade liberalisation and respect for the law. Exchanges, investment, and relations will be emphasised. Especially, the comprehensive cooperation in transportation by land, sea, and air between ASEAN and the European Union will be prioritised. Cooperation will also be addressed in the following spheres: digital communication, safe and open environment for information technology, cybersecurity, human rights, internet freedom, smart city–building, green energy, effective use of energy, support provision for the development of environmentally friendly energy, and human connection–building via the exchange of students and research works, as well as cultural exchange and tourism. Dialogues on political and security issues will be strengthened. In general, Vietnam is prepared to play an increasingly important role in promoting closer relations and in strengthening cooperation between the two blocs in all areas of mutual interest.

CONCLUSIONS

Up to now, the European Union and ASEAN have basically achieved equality in bilateral cooperation in all spheres and have become important partners to each other. For the past years, ASEAN has proved its reputation and reliability in economic cooperation and has increasingly been attractive to the investors all over the world. Regarding international relations, ASEAN is playing a central role in the region. The EU has also provided it with great support in various spheres through development assistance programmes and other aid-supporting ones, especially assistance in building the ASEAN community. After the global economic crisis, the European Union actively and proactively promoted relations with ASEAN. A large number of assistance and cooperation programmes were implemented, making the relations between the European Union and ASEAN unprecedentedly effective. The European Union, however, has not yet made outstanding marks, and its role was quite vague in some important situations in the region. This makes it really difficult for the European Union to compete with the United States, China, and Japan for influence on ASEAN. Hopefully, the European Union will effectively implement its strategy entitled Connecting Europe and Asia so as to heighten its position and influence in Southeast Asia and become the top partner of ASEAN and its member nations.

1

ASEAN Key Figures 2019. The ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta, 2019. 2 Nguyễn Thị Thu Hà: ASEAN’s role in the EU strategy on connecting Europe and Asia. Institute for European Studies, Research project. 2017.

3

Nikola Popovic: Prospects for EU–ASEAN Security Ties. Global Risks Insights. 8 December 2019. <https://bit. ly/3d6VOZQ >

4 5

Popovic.

Iris Chen Xuechen, The Role of ASEAN’s Identities in Reshaping the ASEAN–EU Relationship. Contemporary Southeast Asia. 222–246.

6

EU–ASEAN relations, factsheet. European Union External Action. 30 July 2019. <https://bit.ly/3c5duDw >

7 8

EU–ASEAN relations, factsheet.

Maja Kocijancic, spokesperson for the EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, issued the EU’s declaration on the recent situation in the South China Sea on 28 September. Tuyên bố của EU về những diễn biến gần đây tại Biển Đông. Báo Điện Tử Của Chính Phủ Nước Cộng Hòa Xã Hội Chủ Nghĩa Việt Nam. 29 August 2019. <https://bit.ly/2zxqqov >

9

Reuben Yik Pern Wong–Scott Brown: Stepping up EU–ASEAN Cooperation in Non-Traditional Security. LSE IDEAS–Dahrendorf Forum Special Report. 2016/April. 79–85. 10 Reuben–Brown. 11 Sớm hướng tới hoàn tất Hiệp định Vận tải Hàng không toàn diện ASEAN–EU. WTO–VCCI. 14 February 2020. <https://bit. ly/3go2i8z > 12 Creating a New Dynamic in Eu–ASEAN Relations. Commission of the European Community. 3 July 1996. Annex 2, Table 2.1. EU trade with ASEAN. 38. 13 Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). European Commission. Last updated: 5 May 2020. <https://bit. ly/2X5LMm9 > 14 Vinayak HV–Thompson–Oliver Tonby: Understanding ASEAN: Seven things you need to know. McKinsey & Company. <https://mck.co/2TF1Hpg > Accessed: 20 March 2020. 15 Archive:EU trade and investment statistics with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Eurostat. April 2015. <https://bit.ly/36xvPbo > 16 Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). European Commission. 17 Vinayak–Thompson–Tonby. 18 ASEAN–EU Plan of Action (2018–2022). Association of Southeast Asian Nations. August 2017. <https://bit. ly/3giQVyN > 19 Evaluation of EC co-operation with ASEAN. June 2009. <https://bit.ly/2B7NLxH > 20 Jonathan Peel: Connecting Europe and Asia—Building blocks for an EU Strategy. Joint Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Investment Bank. European Economic and Social Committe. 14 December 2018. <https://bit.ly/2ZKseFk > 21 Towards a New Asia Strategy. Communication from the Commission to the Council. EUR-Lex. 13 July 1994. <https:// bit.ly/2XCkIKm > 22 Nguyễn Thị Thu Hà: Several initial remarks on the European Union’s strategy titled “Connecting Europe and Asia—Building blocks for an EU Strategy.” European Studies. 2019/1. 36–45. 23 Shared Vision, Common Action: A stronger Europe. A Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy. European Union External Action. June 2016. <https://bit. ly/2Xuwzdk > 24 ASEAN Key Figures 2019. 25 Also called the “ASEAN Way” see Zsolt Csepregi: The Great Divider/Connecter— Southeast Asia’s Future: A Shatterbelt or a Gateway Region? 26 EU–ASEAN relations in 21st Century. Strategic Partnership in the Making, edited by Daniel Novotny–Clara Portela. Palgrave Macmillan, Houndsmills, 2012. 27 Ankit Panda: US, Japan, India, and Australia hold working level quadrilateral meeting on regional cooperation. The Diplomat. 8 June 2018. <https://bit.ly/2XyzVMb > 28 Nguyễn Thị Thu Hà: Vietnam–EU relations on the threshold of the EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement: Opportunities and Challenges. European Studies. 2019/11. 62–74. 29 EU–Vietnam. Framework Participation Agreement. European Union External Action. <https://bit.ly/3c5h4hb > Accessed: 21 March 2020. 30 Guide to the EU–Vietnam Trade and Investment Agreements. European Union External Action. <https://bit.ly/2ZFLuE5 > Accessed: 21 March 2020. 31 Statistics from the Vietnam General Department of Customs (2020). 32 Quan Hệ Việt Nam–Liên Minh Châu Âu. Bộ Ngoại Giao Việt Nam. <https://bit.ly/2TJijfE > Accessed: 21 March 2020.