Results of Sergey Lavrov’s trip to Southeast Asia

The second half of July was marked by an important visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Laos and Malaysia. Here Russia-ASEAN ministerial talks took place, as well as meetings of the foreign ministers of East Asian Summit members (EAS, the annual format of the ASEAN dialogue with external partners), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF, a less formal platform for discussing the most pressing problems in the Asia-Pacific region) and a number of bilateral meetings.

EAS, ASEAN and ARF

The main result of the visit was discussing, together with partners from Southeast Asia (SEA), the proposal of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the creation of a new pan-Eurasian security architecture. During the Russia-ASEAN ministerial meeting on July 26 and the meetings of the EAS and ARF on July 27 in Vientiane, Sergey Lavrov briefed his colleagues in detail on the Russian initiative. The Russian Foreign Minister stressed the need to create an open and indivisible security system based on equality, such that no country on the continent strengthens its security at the expense of the security of others.

In this context, S.V. Lavrov informed ASEAN partners about the increasingly noticeable transfer of NATO infrastructure to the Asia-Pacific region, the danger of nuclear proliferation in the Asia-Pacific region and other parts of the world by the US through the transfer of such weapons to its allies, as well as new US attempts to sow confrontation in the region.

Russia sees ASEAN as one of the key participants in building a new international system of collective security – a ‘Greater Eurasian Partnership’ – and fully supports the central role of the Association in the affairs of Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region, strengthening the “ASEAN-centric architecture [of the region] based on inclusiveness and equality, taking into account the interests of all participants and respect for their identity”.

As noted by S.V. Lavrov, ASEAN and Russia have “a similar vision of the parameters for the formation of a multipolar world order on the solid basis of the principles of the UN Charter, other norms of international law and the increasing role of the states of the Global South in multilateral structures in accordance with their rapidly growing real ‘weight’ in the world economy and politics”.

The Russian Foreign Minister also drew the attention of ASEAN partners to the prospects for mutually beneficial development of relations between the Association and regional Eurasian organisations, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Eurasian Economic Union. According to Sergey Lavrov, “economic, social, transport, and infrastructural aspects should be central to the contacts established between them.

The ministers also discussed the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan of Action for the implementation of the Russian-ASEAN Strategic Partnership for 2021-2025. It has been agreed to plan a new similar document for the next medium-term period. The parties expressed a desire to strengthen practical cooperation in the fields of politics, security, economics and humanitarian cooperation, in addition to a new vector of dialogue between the Russian Federation and the Association launched in 2024, namely a digital partnership. ASEAN member states highly appreciated the cooperation with Russia in training specialists. In the future, the parties plan to expand cooperation in knowledge-intensive industries.

Following the Russia-ASEAN negotiations, a joint statement was adopted on the 20th anniversary of Russia’s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (Bali Treaty), a key international document for ASEAN that solves the tasks of forming a stable regional security architecture. The parties reaffirmed that the treaty serves as the cornerstone for peace and stability in Southeast Asia, as well as highlighting the importance of following its principles (equality, respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and national identity of Southeast Asian states, the right of all countries to international relations free from interference in internal affairs, coercion and external subversion, the priority of cooperation and peaceful settlement of disputes), the central role of ASEAN and ASEAN-centric mechanisms for the security architecture of the entire Asia-Pacific region, commitment to the ideas of multipolarity and multilateralism, the complex nature of the strategic partnership between Russia and ASEAN.

Within the framework of the EAS, Russia continues to promote initiatives to create a region-wide anti-epidemic response mechanism and to ensure economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region by expanding cooperation in the field of tourism. Another proposal made by our country is to consider the development of remote territories of the participating states as a vector of joint work in the future. This area could potentially be of interest to all ASEAN countries.

The co-chairmanship of Russia and Indonesia during the intersessional meetings on the topic of ensuring the security of information and communication technologies in 2022-2024 were assessed at the ARF. The parties have established a consultative mechanism and proposed initiatives to expand the fight against cybercrime. Considering that Western countries participate in the forum and ARF, S.V. Lavrov emphasised the inadmissibility of their attempts to reformat this association in line with their narrow interests, restrict access to its activities by individual states and block projects of multilateral security cooperation for political reasons.

Meetings on the sidelines

In addition to multilateral negotiations, the visit of the Russian minister was marked by a large number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of sessions, for example with representatives of ASEAN countries, including, rather remarkably, East Timor, which is still an observer in the Association. Thus, Sergey Lavrov demonstrated respect for the relatively young independent state and showed readiness to develop a dialogue with it and the Association’s external partners, particularly the foreign ministers of China, India, Turkey and the Republic of Korea. Each of them discussed issues of bilateral relations and exchanged views on international and /or regional issues.

It makes sense to consider separately and in more detail Sergey Lavrov’s in-depth meetings with representatives of the two ASEAN chair states: the current one for 2024 (Laos) and the future one for 2025 (Malaysia).

Laos: on the way to celebrating 65 years of diplomatic relations

The Russian Foreign Minister held a meeting with the Lao Minister of Foreign Affairs, S. Kommasith, in Vientiane on July 25. The ministers met like old friends. The current round of Russian-Lao contacts consolidated the agreements reached in May of this year in Moscow by Vladimir Putin and Lao President T. Sisoulith.

Our country’s relations with Laos have traditionally been close. In 2025, the 65th anniversary of their establishment will be celebrated. The parties not only cooperate in all areas, from military-political and diplomatic (providing each other with real support in international organisations) and humanitarian ties, to working together closely to develop a dialogue between Russia and ASEAN. In Vientiane, the partners signed three strategically important bilateral documents: an agreement on cooperation in the field of security in information and communication technologies, a consultation plan between the Russian and Lao ministries of foreign affairs for 2024-2026 and a memorandum on teaching Russian in schools in Laos.

As one may see, the parties have significantly deepened their cooperation. The coordination of the foreign ministries of the two countries in the international arena and Laos’ interest in joint training are usual within the scope of their relations, however information security is a fairly new area of bilateral cooperation. Its development is quite logical; seeing the enormous volume of security challenges that arise in the information environment today, Laos is looking for reliable partners in this field who can be trusted. The key tasks of the Russian-Lao partnership at the present stage are strengthening coordination in international and regional affairs and the development of trade and economic ties.

Finally, Sergey Lavrov presented S. Kommasith with an invitation for Laos to participate in the BRICS summit and the Eastern Economic Forum. In addition, a Russia-China-Laos trilateral meeting was organised. As Sergey Lavrov noted, “the three states are united by common approaches to establishing the broadest possible cooperation space on the continent, strengthening cross-border transport, sales and production and logistics cooperation mechanisms”. Accordingly, such a trilateral format has good prospects for the development of more comprehensive economic ties.

Malaysia: increasing trade and academic cooperation

On July 28, Sergey Lavrov visited Malaysia. Negotiations were held with the Prime Minister, A. Ibrahim, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, M. Hasan. The parties discussed in detail topical issues of relations between Moscow and Kuala Lumpur, including political dialogue, trade, economic and humanitarian cooperation and interregional ties. Similar views on the main problems of international relations at the regional and global levels were confirmed and it was agreed upon to continue coordinating actions on the platforms of multilateral diplomacy.

Malaysia has also expressed interest in strengthening contacts with BRICS. Sergey Lavrov expressed gratitude to the Malaysian side for its balanced position on the Ukrainian crisis. Regarding another ‘hot spot’ of the modern world – the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – the ministers stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire and a solution to the most acute humanitarian problems in the Gaza Strip, followed by the urgent establishment of a Palestinian state.

In the bilateral part, special emphasis was placed on scientific and educational cooperation. An agreement between the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia on cooperation was reached. The parties also agreed to promote an increase in trade turnover and develop investment cooperation, taking into account the updated agreement signed in May, 2024, on the avoidance of double taxation, to intensify the work of the Joint Russian-Malaysian Commission on Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation. Finally, the two states intend to work together to expand the partnership between Russia and ASEAN. Sergey Lavrov and M. Hasan agreed in advance to hold special consultations on preparations for next year on the eve of Malaysia’s accession to the presidency of the Association.

ASEAN and its member states are significant partners of Russia. In turn, they treat the ideas and initiatives proposed by our country with respect and attention. During the talks with Sergey Lavrov, ASEAN member states once again expressed their gratitude to Russia for supporting the Association’s ‘central role’ in the affairs of the region. Unlike the West, Russia has always seen and continues to see the countries of Southeast Asia as sovereign states, independent and playing an increasingly prominent role in world politics, participants in international life, with growing political weight and economic potential.

The concept of a new, equal and indivisible Eurasian security system proposed by V.V. Putin cannot fail to impress ASEAN. The parties have every reason to develop cooperation in this direction. However, in order for ASEAN to fully implement it, it is important to realise the importance of the balance in the international environment that Russia is trying to achieve and to understand (in a timely matter) the seriousness of risks to its international legal personality that the growing interference of the West in the affairs of Southeast Asia carries. The prerequisites for this have already been created.

Ksenia Muratshina, PhD in History, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Southeast Asia, Australia and Oceania of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.” Courtesy

https://journal-neo.su/2024/08/09/discussing-a-pan-eurasian-security-architecture-and-new-agreements-on-cooperation-results-of-sergey-lavrovs-trip-to-southeast-asia/