@rusembsg · Post #3492 · 2024/09/18 06:28
The Embassy has taken note of the article by Dr Tommy Koh titled "What to Make of #ASEAN's Ties with Russia", published in the #StraitsTimes on September 17, 2024. As a former senior diplomat and a respected expert on international affairs, Dr Koh undoubtedly possesses a deep understanding of the essence of the #RussiaASEAN dialogue partnership. However, the assertion that this relationship is "thin on substance" appears exaggerated and lacking in nuance. This claim cannot be considered impartial. The Russia-ASEAN partnership has consistently been of a strategic nature, well before its formal elevation in November 2018. It extends far beyond mere trade and arms supplies, as Dr. Koh sought to convey to his readership. The ties between Russia and ASEAN encompass a wide array of strategically significant issues, both regionally and globally: energy and food security, addressing non-conventional security threats such as terrorism, extremism, and transnational crime, cooperation in international information security and emergency response, training of law enforcement personnel, and volunteering, among others. In January, Russia was conferred the status of ASEAN's digital partner. The relationship also thrives on vibrant people-to-people exchanges, as well as youth, cultural, educational, and scientific cooperation. It is factually inaccurate to state that only two ASEAN member states have enjoyed very close relations with Russia and supported Moscow along its ongoing efforts to combat the #neoNazism in #Ukraine. However, the fact is that only one ASEAN member state has imposed unilateral sanctions against us in the absence of a UNSC resolution. Besides, attributing Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s recent visit to Vladivostok for the Eastern Economic Forum (#EEF) to dissatisfaction with the US policy in the Middle East is both overly simplistic and unfounded. #RussiaMalaysia relations are built on a long history of amicable and substantive cooperation, with further significant achievements on the horizon. The ASEAN member states regard Russia as a stabilizing, independent and trustworthy actor in the region's foreign policy, one that brings strategic equilibrium and, unlike certain other powers with neocolonial ambitions, refrains from meddling in the internal affairs of sovereign nations, resorting neither to coercion nor manipulation.