ASEAN Monitor (3/2024). Leaders of ASEAN member states and Australia met on March 4-6 in Melbourne as part of a special summit to mark the 50th anniversary of Australia's status as an ASEAN "dialogue partner". Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the creation of a special fund (Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility) with a capital of USD 1.3 billion. As announced, the funds will be allocated for loans, guarantees and insurance for projects supporting bilateral trade and investments. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced the provision of USD 42 million financial support to ASEAN member states to strengthen maritime security capabilities. Download the entire March news with commentary here.
ASEAN Monitor (2/2024). In February, elections were held in Indonesia, with over 6,000 votes cast. The scale of the project can be proven by the fact that out of a population of 277 million people, approximately 205 million citizens were entitled to vote, for whom over 820,000 ballots were prepared. According to preliminary results, out of three candidates, the new president of Indonesia will be the current Minister of Defense - Prabowo Subianto, who owes his success to the informal support of the incumbent president Joko Widodo. Download the entire February briefing along with commentary here.
ASEAN Monitor (1/2024). As part of this year's ASEAN chairmanship, Laos organized the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat, which was attended by a representative of Burma for the first time in three years. The President of Indonesia paid visits to Vietnam, Brunei and the Philippines, while the President of the Philippines, on his first foreign trip in 2024, visited Vietnam, with which maritime cooperation has been strengthened. China criticized the Philippines and Singapore for congratulating the new president of Taiwan, and strengthened cooperation with Myanmar in combating cybercrime. The United States and the Philippines conducted their first joint patrol in the South China Sea this year, which was monitored by Chinese ships. Download the entire January news release along with commentary here.
