New Delhi: This week, while all eyes were fixed on US President Biden’s visit to Israel, a first-ever summit bringing together Gulf and Southeast Asian nations taking place 1,500 km away from the conflict zone went largely under the radar.
On Friday, leaders from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) met their counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a summit in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh. While the former sought to diversify oil markets and skilled labour, the latter explored new avenues of trade and investment.
They also issued a joint statement on the situation in Gaza that called for a ceasefire, protection of civilians, and release of Israeli hostages.
The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait. ASEAN countries include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
At the meeting, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also proposed a free-trade agreement between the two groupings, saying such a deal would help amid “geopolitical uncertainties”.
Though the GCC and ASEAN established relations in 1990, Friday’s summit was the first top-level engagement in decades, which resulted in a five-year plan of cooperation that focussed on counter-terrorism, trade and investment, and energy cooperation.
For the Gulf countries, there’s also the question of whether they will have to be careful in manoeuvering Chinese influence in the Southeast Asian region. Beijing has been the bloc’s largest trading parter since 2009 but its release of a new map last month, laying claim over some of its neighbours’ waters in the South China Sea, also posed challenges.
However, Alka Acharya, professor and chair at the Centre for East Asian Studies, JNU, argued that Chinese influence wouldn’t be a hindrance to growing cooperation between ASEAN and Gulf countries.
“China has its own way of establishing space and relevance in the region. It has in recent times also established a strong nexus with Saudi Arabia in the course of their mediation to normalise relations between Tehran and Riyadh. Recall the warmth of the Saudi welcome to the Chinese President Xi Jinping last December,” she told ThePrint.
The professor said that in the economic downturn that came in the wake of the pandemic, ASEAN countries are expanding their options.
“They are steering a prudent course between the major powers — American, Indian, and the Chinese — that seek to expand their influence in the region,” she explained.
In an op-ed for Arab News on 21 October, Mohammed Al-Sulami, founder of the International Institute for Iranian Studies (Rasanah), argued along similar lines. He said the GCC is not looking to “damage” ties with China, reminding that Beijing provides Gulf countries with “up-to-date technology” for building indigenous defence industries.
“China will view the shift carefully, especially to see if the GCC is investing in areas of Chinese concern and influence, and whether the bloc evolves into playing a geopolitical role in the region,” he said.
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5-yr plan focuses on terrorism prevention, trade & investment
The ASEAN-GCC Summit resulted in a Framework of Cooperation (2024-2028) — a document that kicked off with calls for preventing and countering terrorism, radicalism, and violent extremism.
“Explore cooperation and enhance the exchange of experiences and best practices on preventing and countering radicalism and violent extremism that lead to terrorism in all forms and manifestations,” it read.
Under economic cooperation, ASEAN and GCC called for cooperation between micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), business exchange, financial and banking services, and the possibility of developing a framework for trade and investment cooperation.
ASEAN and GCC jointly account for a GDP of about $7.8 trillion. While the West has faced recessionary trends over the course of the Russia-Ukraine war, the two blocs showed economic growth above the global average in 2022. IMF projections showed 6.5 percent for the GCC and about 4 percent for Asia-Pacific countries.
The ASEAN-GCC document mentions the need for greater energy cooperation, mostly for clean low-carbon energy technologies, technology development for energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Domestic demand for energy in Southeast Asian countries is likely to grow due to high population growth and industrialisation. Energy demand in the region is projected to triple by 2050, according to data from the Asian Development Bank.
Joint statement on Gaza
The Israel-Hamas conflict was top of mind in discussions at the ASEAN-GCC Summit, especially with the prospect of an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza.
In his address at the ASEAN-GCC Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud called for an end to the fighting saying “we are pained by the escalating violence that Gaza is witnessing”.
This was reflected in the joint statement that was issued later. In that five-point statement, ASEAN and GCC countries condemned attacks against civilians, and called for a “durable ceasefire” and the “unhindered” delivery of fuel, food, and medicine throughout Gaza. They also called on countries to abide by international humanitarian law, and to immediately release civilian hostages amid the crisis.
On Saturday, Hamas released two US hostages ‘for humanitarian reasons’ after Qatari mediation efforts.
ASEAN and GCC countries also reiterated calls for a two-state solution in the Israel-Palestine conflict.
A.K Pasha, director of the Centre for India West Asia Dialogue (CIWAD) — a Delhi-based research institute — explained that the statement holds weight, especially if an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza does take place.
“The geopolitical tectonic plates are slowly shifting towards the East. If Israel attacks and causes more deaths and destruction in Gaza, it will push the Gulf states further away from the West and towards China and Russia,” he told ThePrint.
Saudi Arabia, home to the GCC headquarters, has put talks for normalisation of ties with Israel on ice ever since the war broke out between Israel with Hamas. The Saudi Crown Prince has also called for an independent Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders.
On Friday, former Saudi ambassador to the UK and US Prince Turki al-Faisal was critical of Hamas for targeting civilians, British daily The Telegraph reported. The remarks, the report went on to add, “underlined” those made by the Saudi Crown Prince and could indicate that Riyadh is still open to a normalisation deal with Israel.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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