Senior diplomats from the Philippines, the European Union, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have expressed optimism that despite the challenges posed by geopolitical realities and the COVID-19 pandemic, EU-ASEAN relations are bound to expand and flourish in the coming years.

This was the observation made by majority of the participants in the webinar hosted by the EU Delegation to the Philippines on August 12, 2021 where they lengthily discussed the impact of the strategic partnership in the EU-ASEAN relations.

The virtual meeting came as the Philippines assume its role as Country Coordinatorship for the ASEAN-EU Dialogue for the next three years. The EU has been an ASEAN Dialogue Partner since 1977.

“The EU-ASEAN agenda is broad, deep, and we care deeply about it. I believe that hand-in-hand with the Philippines will strengthen our relationship with ASEAN. This journey is a work-in-progress,” EU Ambassador to the Philippines Luc Véron said in his remarks.

Véron stressed that the EU-ASEAN strategic partnership should be an occasion for the two regional blocs to strengthen cooperation in addressing global issues such as global warming, combatting and recovering from COVID-19, peace and security, human rights, and sustainable development.

“By their very nature, global challenges cannot be addressed by countries alone. The more regional organizations work together, the stronger we are collectively and the more robust the multilateral system becomes,” the top EU diplomat in the Philippines said.

Véron also conveyed EU’s desire “to deepen its cooperation with ASEAN members to promote effective multilateralism, able to address the challenges that we are facing, for example in the ongoing process to strengthen the World Health Organization’s capacity against pandemics, or at the forthcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP26)”.

Citing the June 28, 2021 meeting between Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and EU High Representative and Vice President of the EU Commission Josep Borrell, Véron said such an event was a reaffirmation of the importance of deepening the EU-ASEAN relations and the readiness for engagement in areas of mutual interest including security cooperation.

The EU envoy also echoed their interest in intensifying their cooperation with the ASEAN under the ambit of the Indo-Pacific, specifically to boost trade and investment, economic openness, sustainable approach to connectivity in the region, and deepening of security engagement on maritime security and conflict prevention.

For the Philippine side, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs Maria Theresa Lazaro proposed that as strategic partners, ASEAN and EU should also elevate their exchanges to the highest level as the Philippines prepare the groundwork for the ASEAN-EU Commemorative Summit to be held in Brussels next year.

As promoters of the rules-based multilateral order, Lazaro said both ASEAN and EU will continue to champion the respect for international law, including the 1982 United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), citing, in particular, the security situation in the South China Sea.

“ASEAN and EU should continue to reaffirm the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, security, safety, and the right to freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea, as well as the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 UNCLOS,” she said.

Aside from Véron and Lazaro, others who participated in the webinar were former Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Domingo Albert, EU Ambassador to ASEAN Igor Driesmans, and Ambassador Kok Li Peng, Singapore’s Permanent Representative to ASEAN.