ASEAN and GCC committed to peace and development in milestone summit

Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) concluded a historic summit by committing in promoting peace, security and economic development, a move that experts hailed as a "significant milestone" in the relations between the two regional groupings.

In a joint statement issued at the end of the inaugural GCC-ASEAN Summit held Oct 20, leaders vowed to promote peace, security, stability and prosperity, achieve development and progress and maintain the rules-based international order. They also committed to the principle of good neighborliness; respect for independence, sovereignty, equality and territorial integrity; non-interference in internal affairs; and peaceful dispute settlement.

The leaders also welcomed the accession of all GCC member states to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC). The TAC is a peace treaty signed in 1976 among ASEAN member states. It aims to promote stability and security in the region by creating guidelines for peaceful coexistence and friendly cooperation.

Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Indonesian President Joko Widodo co-chaired the one-day summit held in Riyadh. This was the first top-level engagement between the two blocs since they established relations in 1986.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi closed the summit by presenting the GCC-ASEAN Framework of Cooperation (2024-28), which outlines measures and cooperation activities in different sectors including security, trade and investment, cultural exchanges and tourism.

Mustafa Izzuddin, senior international affairs Analyst at Solaris Strategies Singapore, said the summit reflects the ASEAN and GCC countries' goal to diversify their diplomatic and trade partnerships.

"It is a win-win for both GCC and ASEAN to have a cooperative partnership with each other," Mustafa told China Daily. He said GCC can benefit from ASEAN's global network of relationships and being an economic powerhouse while ASEAN can benefit from GCC's vast oil and gas reserves.

Sharon Seah, senior fellow at the ASEAN Studies Center, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said the summit is "a significant milestone" in bilateral relations.

She said that in 2009, the two sides agreed to meet at the ministerial level but bilateral trade has only increased marginally due to the lack of interest from both sides. Seah said that prior to the ASEAN-GCC summit, Singapore was the only ASEAN country that had a free trade agreement with the GCC while Cambodia and Indonesia were negotiating separately for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the GCC.

"But conditions have now changed, not least due to the increasingly tense geopolitical environment that we are living under," Seah told China Daily. She said the two regional blocs' strategic interests and priorities have now converged and the elevation of bilateral relations to the summit level is a welcome development.

Gokhan Ereli, Gulf Studies coordinator at the Turkiye-based Center for Middle Eastern Studies said the timing of the summit is "significant".

"Amidst heightened military conflicts in the Middle East, particularly within the context of Israel-Palestine, a joint announcement arising from the meeting between GCC and ASEAN demonstrates political cooperation between these organizations," Ereli told China Daily.

Ereli has alluded to the joint statement issued by GCC and ASEAN leaders from Riyadh. The leaders have condemned all attacks against civilians and called for "a durable cease-fire" as the Middle East conflict intensifies. They have called for the "most effective and efficient" access to humanitarian aid; the restoration of electricity and water services; and the unhindered delivery of fuel, food and medicine throughout Gaza.

Seah said while ASEAN itself may not have a role to play in the Middle East peace process, ASEAN countries "understand that whatever happens in another region, though far away, have implications in our neighborhood".

Ereli said that with organizations like GCC and ASEAN 'internationalizing' the issue, this would help in facilitating urgent humanitarian aid and reconstruction of Gaza.