Allaster Cox

The result of the MEP (European Parliament) election held on June 9th has had repercussions for quite some time. It wasn't that disastrous, but the incremental gains of the far right-wing parties were the symptoms of the fatigue detected in the old continent due to the #Ukraine #Russia war and #Israel #Palestine conflict, as well as high inflation, according to some arguments. This article by Joanne Lin and her colleague Eugene Tan comprehensively covered the background of #ASEAN #EU Relations as well as their discontents, more precisely, the EU's somewhat ailing approach to #Southeastasia, which needs to be dramatically reformed. Last week, The Jakarta Post published an op-ed, "Why the EU should adjust its policy toward Southeast Asia" by Denis Suarsana. His tone was way stronger as the EU's "morally arrogant" attitude won't work anymore in the region. He compares the EU a lot with China. However, their philosophy, value system, and strengths are all different. If pragmatism and realpolitik are the only ways for #diplomacy #multilateralism shouldn't have even taken off earlier on. Nonetheless, it's quite pathetic and even helpless to see that power dynamics and realpolitik are the easier answers to get all the mess and fatigue sorted. Back to the article I shared here, it describes the issues the EU has faced with ASEAN, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia, over trade disputes such as Palmoil and deforestration. The EU has established itself as the forefront of sustainable development, approaches are meticulous, which does not leave much room for others to manoeuvre. That is what ASEAN feels about being pushed and elbowed. While ASEAN is struggling with the #US and #China, China is more engaged with ASEAN, encompassing political security and economy. Due to its geographical proximity, this is not surprising. It would've been the same elsewhere. #Korea and #Japan also naturally engage more with ASEAN, which is unsurprising. Cultural similarities and geographical proximities cannot be detached from this natural engagement. #Europe, on the other hand, has a lot of riddles and difficulties keeping ASEAN on their side. It's again not surprising. The approaches the article suggested are the support for climate action, AI governance (not necessarily tech development but regulation), and privacy protection through capacity building. However, the EU's style of capacity building needs to sync better with ASEAN. Because the EU has its own standards and pre-structured approach to conform to the standards created through long discussions. EU needs to reconsider its approach to be more flexible and less rigid to clear its views and see ASEAN. While the world is pretty much occupied by US-China competition and the possible return of #Trump, we also need to keep an eye on other engagements and middle power roles to make as many options available as possible. Therefore, the EU's role in the region cannot be neglected.

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Published yesterday at ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute (ISEAS), this assessment paper covers the 2024 #ASEAN Chairmanship by #LaoPDR in an adroit, balanced manner, pointing out some shortcomings yet not hurting feelings. Indeed very #diplomatic As authors, including Joanne Lin and Sharon Seah, described in the article, Lao PDR focused on pragmatic and 'low hanging fruit' outcomes to be unveiled in Vientiane last week. Although I sometimes question whether all these documents could be more succinctly prepared for a wider readership, many deliverables focus on #environment #biodiversity #supplychain #labour issues and some #transnationalcrime issues, such as illicit drug smuggling and human trafficking. Among the dialogue partners, #China tops in adopting 5 outcome documents, including the Chairman's statement. China covers ACFTA 3.0, online gambling response, digital economy, etc. But again, Lao's 'earnest' efforts cannot be given full credit since the EAS Joint Statement, as replicated in 2021 under #Cambodia chairmanship, couldn't gain support from all 18 countries and, hence, halted, failed to produce and adopt. Sergey Lavrov finger-pointed at the US and the allies in the EAS for this failure, as reported in the media. But it's too late to blame anyone; ASEAN feels the most frustrated. Reaching consensus among the 10 ASEAN member states was once a challenging task, as observed in 2012 when the Joint Communique was not adopted for the first time. Then ASEAN seemed to find its common ground, called 'the lowest denominator'. It's often criticised for recycling the pre-existing language and low impactful stance. Nonetheless, staying relevant to the regional and international issues within and outside of ASEAN's geography is better than nothing. How ASEAN can mediate different ideas, especially in the time of emergence of inevitable bipolarity. Some political scientists despise or even deny using the word bipolarity, but this seems unavoidable. Next year, #Malaysia is set to chair ASEAN. This is a significant year, marking the 20th anniversary of # EAS and the adoption of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and strategic plans in the first half of the year. As we look ahead, it's crucial to consider the entire concept of ASEAN's convening power and its Centrality, especially by reinforcing #EAS. EAS should not follow the #ARF steps. 

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PDRM has opened an investigation over allegations that former deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim, was involved in a human-trafficking syndicate in Myanmar. 😱 🚨 While she has denied the allegation of her involvement in the syndicate, deeper findings have shown that the operation’s modus operandi is tied to a job opportunity scam. 👮 💼 As investigations carry on in a rightful and according manner, we have decided to bring to light the reality of human trafficking in our nation, more specifically where Malaysia stands in this ongoing battle. 🚫 🇲🇾 Do you know how many human trafficking victims have been identified in 2024 thus far? 🤔 Click on the link below to find out this answer and more. 👈 ⬅️ #wikiimpact #Malaysia #society #change #impact #jobs #data #foreignworkers #awareness #datadriven #syndicate #abuse #workers #labour #exploitation #trafficking #migrants #migrantworkers #allegations #claims #police #policeinvestigation #investigation #forcedlabour #exploit

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💡 Insights from the recent Bridgespan report on Asian and Global Philanthropic Practices to Drive Impact, prepared with the support of the Institute of Philanthropy (#IoP), reveals significant developments in Asian institutional philanthropy.    Launched at the recent #PBC2024 Forum, the report underscores the current philanthropic landscape in the East and West.    Read the full article here from Alliance magazine 👇    #ImpactfulPhilanthropy #HKJC #HKJCCharitiesTrust #AsianPhilanthropy 

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Headlines from this morning's breakfast meeting on increasing development finance for clean air, convened by Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Clean Air Fund: - clean air is a global public good but severely under-invested in - ⁠health donors are notably absent, especially given the 8m annual deaths - ⁠there are huge economic benefits to reducing air pollution, but they are hard to monetise - ⁠areas of cross over with #ClimateChange, like black carbon reduction, should be prioritised Read our report for more information on the State of Global #AirQuality Funding: https://bit.ly/3NEzj2c

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Congratulations to the Government of Lao PDR in its historic national ban of corporal punishment of children, the 66th country globally to make this bold move for children, and the first ASEAN country to do so! Corporal punishment is the physical and humiliating punishment of children at the hands of parents, caregivers, teachers, and many others who have been entrusted with the care of children. Corporal punishment takes many forms from spanking, pinching, to deprivation of food, shaking, throwing, kicking, burning, forcing children to stay in uncomfortable positions, and many other actions that cause children pain, bodily injury and emotional distress. Corporal punishment includes all verbal abuse and other actions that belittle children and degrades their sense of dignity. For a few decades now, child rights and child development advocates have been advocating for the complete ban of corporal punishment globally. The serious impacts of corporal punishment of children have been well researched. Children suffer serious and lasting physical and emotional injuries and many have died as result of corporal punishment. We have also seen how experiences of violence in childhood perpetuates the intergenerational cycle of violence. A research by the End Corporal Punishment https://lnkd.in/guK5dqy3 presented how corporal punishment violates not just children’s right to freedom from all violence, but also their rights to health, development and education, and has damaging effects on society as well as individuals. It supports arguments that the prohibition and elimination of corporal punishment is a low-cost effective public health measure, for example in the prevention of domestic violence, mental illness and antisocial behaviour and to support welfare, education and developmental outcomes for children. The commitment of Lao PDR to exert all legal efforts to protect its children, with this new law banning corporal punishment in the country as well as the recent revision of the  Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Children are key steps forward to protect the current and future generations of Lao children. The true success of these legal instruments depend on the ability of the Lao Government and the Lao society at large to truly imbibe the values and vision behind these laws and truly change the daily experience of children in all households and all settings, especially those who are most vulnerable. The future holds a lot of promise as the youth leaders today have been rallying around this change and many parents have been listening. World Vision in Laos have long been working in the country on efforts to ending all forms of violence of children, especially at the grassroots level. This news from the national government is a big boost and will be an inspiration to the community leaders we are working with!

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China’s BRI appears to be pivoting to smaller, ‘greener’ projects, with Southeast Asia the target destination for investment. As the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) enters its second decade, Beijing seems focused on filling in the fine details of the project’s ambitious outline, first announced by President Xi Jinping in 2013. It appears that the next iteration of the BRI will shift away from grand mega-projects to prioritize ‘small and beautiful’ high-quality projects. The green economy seems to be a particular focus, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi noting during a press conference in early March that China will ‘redouble efforts to build a green Silk Road’. Indeed, 2023 marked the ‘greenest’ year for the BRI, with green-energy investments reaching US$9.5 billion. Investments in critical minerals and mining, green technology (such as electric vehicles and batteries) and green energy (production and transmission) are now key elements of China’s strategic engagement framework for pursuing small, beautiful and green projects. Southeast Asia has become the target destination for China’s green-field investments due to its vast renewable-energy and critical-mineral potential. China gave Southeast Asian countries approximately US$3bn for renewable-energy projects from 2019–23. Many of these projects are focused on the region’s hydropower resources concentrated in countries along the Mekong River, such as Laos and Vietnam. Southeast Asia’s hydropower potential could increase the greening of the energy mix for both China and the region, especially through cross-border power trade. #china #beltandroadinitiative #bri #greeneconomy #renewableenergy #criticalminerals #electricvehicles #greensilkroad #southeastasia #crossborderpowertrade #hydropower

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16th June was International Domestic Workers Day #IDWD. Here is an opinion piece published in The Standard written by #EOC Chairperson that expresses gratitude to the army of foreign domestic workers that silently keeps Hong Kong running. It is also a reminder to all employers of migrant domestic workers that they are workers like any other and their workplace is your home. The way that you, as an employee wish to be treated is the way that you, as an employer must treat your domestic worker employee. Read on... https://lnkd.in/gYaCCx2d #Dignity #Respect Ho Raymond, Devi Novianti, Rona Joyce Lucero Wong

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While writing the literature review for my thesis, I have rummaged through plenty of sources regarding #Southeastasia, #ASEAN, and its relationship with #dialoguepartners. In my observation, I've noticed that ASEAN is analysed from two angles: internal and external. ASEAN experiences some disagreements and different priorities among the member states, but they can consolidate their common stance when 'dealing' with external parties. I use the word 'dealing' here rather than 'engaging'. I think ASEAN has passed the phase of 'engaging' but more of 'dealing' with the external powers in terms of discourse domination. In both aspects, leadership plays a huge role. Therefore, I am sharing this article by the World Economic Forum that was published on its website a few days ago. They anticipate that the changed leadership in #Malaysia, #Indonesia, #Singapore, #Thailand, and #Vietnam will bring more opportunities for cementing regional solidarity. However, I somewhat disagree with their argument that ASEAN has explored adopting a single currency like the Euro. The European Union is often described as a supranational organisation, but in my view, the EU exemplified itself as a good regional integration model before the Maastricht Treaty and #Brexit in 2016. When the Eurozone was formed, it was seen as the realisation of an impossible political dream for the old continent once tainted horrendously by wars. However, as long as the national sovereignty of the Eurozone states isn't fully relinquished to the ECB, the currency value is obscurely priced. Today, the EU is seen somewhere in between the United States and ASEAN, although many people argue otherwise. Given its historical background and its position as pawns to major powers during the Cold War and today between the US and China, ASEAN sanctifies its sovereignty. Independence and sovereignty are virtues that the region values highly and cannot be compromised under any circumstances. Again, leadership will play a big role in pushing and progressing the region. It doesn't need to be fast and fancy, but incremental and comfortable speed without breaching or hurting any member's feeling. Emotion bonding between the leaders in the ASEAN's unique style of retreat format of diplomacy will provide a great opportunity, but only if each leader's popularity is supported by the public respectively and geared to push the region forward to pursue peaceful stability and prosperity.

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New commentary on the recent #IPEF ministerial in Singapore, the progress made on three of the four pillars, what it means for investors, and why they should care. Despite all of the (very understandable) doubts about IPEF and its durability, the steps taken address many investor concerns- anti-corruption and regulatory transparency, commercially viable projects, and supply chain resiliency. The private sector also has a role to play if it wants this initiative to last beyond November in either a Biden or Trump admin. https://lnkd.in/eGe-qsP4

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Central Asia is undergoing a transformation to address the urgent challenges of climate change. Governments are adopting sustainable practices to improve environmental quality, ensure energy security, and transition to affordable, renewable energy sources. Multilateral development banks (MDBs) play a pivotal role in this shift by providing the financing needed for local actors to achieve these objectives efficiently. These investments are directed towards projects that promote long-term environmental and social benefits, contributing not only to the region’s economic growth but also laying the foundation for sustained social and economic well-being. Kazakhstan, the first country in the region to adopt green finance standards, has seen over twenty issues in sustainable finance to date. By 2024, the country’s sustainable finance segment has exceeded $1 billion, supported by MDBs and local entities, among others. The government introduced measures such as loan subsidies and bond issuance guarantees for SMEs to encourage further sustainable investments. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s (AIIB) wind power pipeline in Kazakhstan complements the government’s efforts to accelerate green transition and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Uzbekistan followed suit in 2023, issuing its first sovereign green Eurobonds on the London Stock Exchange – the first such issuance in the CIS. AIIB played a key role in supporting the growth of Uzbekistan’s green bond market. It invested $25 million in a $100 million sustainable Eurobonds issuance by JSCB Uzpromstroybank (SQB). This underscored the bank’s commitment to expanding sustainable finance across the region. Proceeds from the issuance have been directed toward, among other things, sub-projects focused on energy efficiency, water efficiency and renewable energy, aligning with Uzbekistan’s green economy goals under the Uzbekistan 2030 strategy. The green bond market in Central Asia still faces challenges. Higher issuance costs, and complex certification and reporting requirements can deter potential issuers, particularly those that are less sophisticated or financially constrained. There is also a lack of standardized metrics and transparency in the use of green bond proceeds, leading to concerns over ‘greenwashing’ – a practice where the environmental benefits of projects are misrepresented, undermining the credibility of the issuer and, potentially, of the larger market. Building a more resilient global economy requires aligning economic activities with sustainability goals, and Central Asia’s growing green finance market signals the region’s commitment to this path. AIIB, in collaboration with the private sector and local banks, is playing a pivotal role in accelerating Central Asia’s shift toward sustainable development. https://lnkd.in/dnzyJ5bf

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The UNFCCC recently released its report on the NDC's that synthesizes information from 168 latest available nationally determined contributions communicated by 195 Parties to the Paris Agreement and recorded in the registry of nationally determined contributions as at 9 September 2024. In relation to #IndigenousPeoples, the report says that: 1. Increased Recognition in Climate Plans: In the latest adaptation components of nationally determined contributions (NDCs), 60% of Parties indicated a stronger focus on including Indigenous Peoples and local communities in climate adaptation planning and implementation. This is an increase from 40% in previous submissions . 2. Legal and Consultative Approaches: 44% of Parties mentioned the use of national-level legal and consultative methods to involve Indigenous Peoples and to protect their rights, underscoring their vulnerable status, particularly regarding ecosystems and forests . 3. Integration of Traditional Knowledge: Many Parties highlighted the importance of integrating Indigenous and traditional knowledge into adaptation strategies. This integration supports both climate adaptation and the sustainable use of ecosystems . 4. Direct Involvement in NDC Preparation: Indigenous Peoples were involved in consultations for NDCs through sectoral proposals, risk assessments, and the application of traditional knowledge. This involvement ensures that their perspectives contribute directly to climate action plans . 5. Targeted Climate Support for Indigenous Peoples: • Financial and technological assistance. • Capacity-building to enhance leadership in climate initiatives. • Sustainable development and livelihood diversification. • Improved market access for Indigenous products . 6. Empowering Local Communities: Beyond Indigenous Peoples, 42% of Parties emphasized empowering local communities in adaptation efforts, focusing on capacity-building, participation in climate strategy design, and implementation of community-based adaptation measures . #NationallyDeterminedContributions #NDC #WeAreIndigenous https://lnkd.in/gqkdX93T

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Today, Myanmar solemnly commemorates Martyr's Day, honoring the memory of General Aung San and other independence leaders who sacrificed their lives on this day in 1947. Their legacy in negotiating Myanmar's independence from British colonial rule remains pivotal in the country's history. #MartyrsDay #MyanmarHistory This day prompts reflection on the sacrifices that shaped Myanmar's journey to independence and unity. Amidst diverse ethnic and religious groups, the nation continues to navigate challenges and strive for peace and reconciliation with minority communities. #EthnicPeaceBuilding Martyr's Day stands as a poignant reminder of the past struggles and a call to address current obstacles, emphasizing the importance of inclusivity and stability for all citizens. Let us honor the heroes who envisioned a more cohesive and peaceful Myanmar. #Unity #PeacefulFuture

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