PETALING JAYA: South-East Asian countries must tell both the United States and China that their increasing rivalry could impair the region’s growth, says a professor of international relations.
Prof Kishore Mahbubani, a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, said the region will be affected by the turbulence, adding that countries here had to focus on economic growth.
“It’s difficult for us to focus on this if we have to worry about dealing with both the US and China without being caught in the crossfire.
“We should take it one step further and tell both of them to find ways of moderating their competition as it is hurting other countries, including Asean nations,” he said at the “Why the Future is Asia” session at the Asia News Network (ANN) Summit 2024 here on Friday (Sept 6).
Prof Kishore, a key speaker at the summit’s opening session, said the contest also has negative effects on efforts to tackle global challenges such as climate change.
“Both the US and China should press the pause button on their contest and focus on fighting climate change.
“That’s the message we have to convey to Beijing and Washington,” he said.
Prof Kishore said China-India relations were another geopolitical challenge, and Asean may also try to play a bridging role.
He said Asean could try persuading India to reconsider its decision not to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade deal.
ANN is the leading regional alliance of news organisations striving to bring the region closer through an active sharing of editorial content.
Formed in 1999, its members hail from the 10 South-East Asian countries as well as several other locations in East and South Asia.
Apart from Malaysia, other media outlets are from Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam.
