The European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are holding their first summit on Wednesday to strengthen economic ties, with European leaders pushing for strong and critical language to be shared with Russia.
The leaders of 27 EU countries and nine of the 10 ASEAN leaders have been invited to the commemoration of 45 years of diplomatic relations. Myanmar, ruled by the military, has been excluded.
The leaders plan to discuss areas of future cooperation, such as trade, green and digital transitions, and healthcare. The two blocks have already signed an agreement so that their airlines can expand their services more easily.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen plans to commit 10 billion euros ($10.6 billion) of public funds through 2027 to invest in ASEAN projects such as renewable energy and sustainable agriculture.
“We see a lot of demand in the region to diversify its sources of investment and work with reliable partners,” an EU official said of the region, where ties with China have grown.
The EU wants to expand its trade ties beyond its free trade agreements with Singapore and Vietnam and negotiations with Indonesia. These regional groupings are the third-party trading partners of each other.
They are also expected to demonstrate their commitment to a rules-based international order.
The European Union is very interested in a declaration characterizing the war in Ukraine as an act of aggression by Russia. An EU official said the bloc was very positive about the prospects for the drafting, though he admitted it was not an easy task.
Singapore is imposing sanctions on Russia, while Laos, Thailand and Vietnam abstained in a United Nations vote in October to condemn Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian regions.
Leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) agreed at a meeting chaired by ASEAN country Indonesia last month that “the majority of members” condemned the war.
The summit declaration is also likely to call for calm in the South China Sea and address the February 2021 military coup in Myanmar and instability on the Korean Peninsula.