FPWPSubmission
AU-in-ASEAN
TirathRamdas
AU-in-ASEAN
TirathRamdas
5 t h January2017
Preface
ThisismysubmissiontotheDFATForeignPolicyWhitePaper2016callforpublicsubmissions.
In this submission, which I’m making in my personal capacity as a Malaysian citizen and
AustralianPermanentResident(andIdoconsidermyselfapartoftheAustraliancommunity),
IamarguingforAustraliatopursueASEANmembership.
Contents
Introduction
1
HowASEANMembershipWouldStrengthenAustralia
SouthEastAsianCyberspace
Grant-Making
EconomicMigrantsandTrackTwoDiplomacy
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2
2
2
BaselinesupportforAustraliatojoinASEAN
2
References
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Introduction
The original definition of Oceania stretched from Australia to the Strait of Malacca. The
popularcontemporarydefinitiondrawsasharperlinebetweenAustraliaandSouthEastAsia,
butitisworthnotingthatamorescientific(ecogeographical)definitionofOceaniaexcludes
New Zealand - point being, it is not that useful to fixate on some imaginary continental
boundary between Australia and South East Asia as a region. Regardless of how these
boundariesaredefined,inmanyrespects,AustralianeatlyfitswithinthecontextofSouth
EastAsia.ASEANisaverydiversegrouping(evenmorediversethantheEurozone),anditis
correspondinglyplausibletoconsiderAustralianmembershipintoASEAN.
Thissubmissionmakestwocontributions:
1) Highlighting several reasons why Australian membership in ASEAN would be to
Australia’sbenefit.
2) Presenting some evidence suggesting that securing an invitation for Australia into
ASEANwillnotbeasdifficultasitmayseemattheoutset.
HowASEANMembershipWouldStrengthenAustralia
Being a member of ASEAN would help ensure Australia is better positioned to seize
opportunitiesandmanagerisksformanyreasons,butthissubmissiononlydiscussesthree
pointsthatmaytypicallyflyundertheradar.
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FPWPSubmission
AU-in-ASEAN
TirathRamdas
SouthEastAsianCyberspace
As one of the last remaining regions of economic dynamism in the world this generation,
ASEANisanincreasinglyimportantmarketforAustralianbusinesses,includingtechstartups
suchasSeekandREAGroupwhichhavesubstantialuser-basesresidinginASEANcountries.
InthecontextoftechnologyandinparticularInternet-basedbusinesses,thereareseveral
importantpolicymattersthatreceiveuneventhinkingintheregion,suchasdatasovereignty,
censorship,andnetneutrality."Greatfirewall"stylethinking(alreadytakingholdinThailand
asthe"singlegateway")couldbehighlydetrimentaltoAustralianeconomicinterests.Cyberprivacyisanotherissuewhich,ifhandledthroughASEAN,mayyieldanEU“safeharbor”style
solution,whichwouldbenefitAustralianconsumersandbusinesses,aswellasconsumersand
businessesfromallotherASEANmembercountries.
Beyondthesepoint-issues,moregenerally,cyberspaceisaninter-generationalissuethatis
goingtobecomeevenmoreimportantinthefuture.Muchismadeofthe“global”natureof
cyberspace,butthefactremainsthatfiberandIPpacketsactuallydocrossbordersinavery
realsense,andexperiencehasshownusthat,practically,politicalboundariesmatter,evenin
cyberspace. The adage that “the Internet routes around censorship” has turned out to be
aspirational,ratherthanatruecharacterisationoftheInternetasitispracticallyexperienced
bythemajorityofpeople.
Therefore,Australianeedsaforumfromwhichitcandrivediscussionandharmonisationof
cyberissueswithinthecontextofspecificregionalconcerns.ASEANcouldbethatvenue.
Grant-Making
As an immediate (and relatively uncontroversial) quick-win, there is an opportunity for
AustraliatopromoteprosperityandstabilitybyleveragingtheexpertiseofAusAIDtowards
developing grant-making apparatus within ASEAN, e.g. injecting some vibrancy into the
ASEANFoundation.
EconomicMigrantsandTrackTwoDiplomacy
Australiaisamigrationfocal-pointforASEAN.ManyeconomicmigrantsinAustraliacome
fromASEANcountriesandstillmaintainbusinessandcultural/politicallinkswiththeircountry
of origin. This base provides a "track two diplomacy" lever that could be better utilised.
CreatinganadditionalpoliticalforumforengagementwiththesecountriesthroughASEAN
wouldallowAustraliatobetterleverageeconomicmigrantsasatwo-wayforceforpositive
changeandenlightenedinfluence.
BaselinesupportforAustraliatojoinASEAN
ItisplausibletoconsiderAustralianmembershipintoASEAN-thebasisforthisclaimissome
researchIhaveconductedrecently[1].Fromsomeinitialpolling,thereisindicationthata
significantsegmentofthepopulationinASEANwouldwelcomeAustralianmembershipinto
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FPWPSubmission
AU-in-ASEAN
TirathRamdas
ASEAN.AsillustratedinFigure1,amajorityofrespondentsinThailand,Malaysia,Singapore,
andThePhilippinesanswered“Yes”tothequestion"ShouldAustraliajoinASEAN?”.Ofthe
countriespolled,onlyIndonesiaandAustraliahada“No”majorityresponse.Moredetails,
suchasresponserates,areavailableontheoriginalpost[1].
Figure1:Responsestothequestion“ShouldAustraliajoinASEAN:Yes/No”bytargetcountry.
These findings are by no means conclusive, and furthermore one may question the
importanceofgrassrootssupportonaquestionsuchasthis,butforwhatit’sworththese
findings suggest that the door is at least ajar, if not open, for Australia to pursue ASEAN
membershipifshewishestodoso.Withthisbaselinegrassrootssupport,achievingASEAN
membershipforAustraliawouldnotrequireashardapushasonemightimagine.Ibelievea
majorsegmentoftheASEANpopulaceholdsvaluesthatoverlapsignificantlywithAustralian
values,andthisformsastrongfoundationfromwhichonemaycultivatean“AU-in-ASEAN”
movement.
References
[1]https://tramdas.wordpress.com/2016/11/30/should-australia-join-asean/
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