Moon to strengthen diplomacy with ASEAN

President Moon Jae-in, second from left, holds hands with leaders of Asian countries, including Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, right, during an opening ceremony for the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila, Monday. / Yonhap

By Jun Ji-hye

President Moon Jae-in called on members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to enhance joint efforts to ensure peace and prosperity in Asia, Monday.

Unveiling his future vision to strengthen cooperation with the Southeast Asian countries, Moon also vowed to greatly expand Seoul’s economic ties with them.

The President made the comments in a speech to the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ABIS) in Manila. About 500 business leaders from the 10 ASEAN members participated in the summit.

“Our joint community for peace, along with the four major powers around the Korean Peninsula, will play an important role in establishing peace and prosperity in Asia,” Moon said. “To that end, we need to enhance our cooperation in security and the defense industry, and jointly cope with North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations, as well as terrorism and cyberattacks.”

Moon is currently visiting Manila for meetings with heads of ASEAN, comprised of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Mentioning his longstanding political philosophy, “People first,” Moon said it is in line with ASEAN countries’ efforts to build a “people-centered, people-oriented community.”

“We need to be friends who can understand each other in order to build a future together,” Moon said. “I will work to extend exchanges between heads of state, governments, enterprises and students.”

The President also vowed to visit all 10 ASEAN member countries during his tenure and improve the visa issuance system so people, as well as high-level government officials, can more actively visit Korea.

According to Moon’s chief press secretary Yoon Young-chan, Moon also vowed to double the Korea-ASEAN Cooperation Fund from $7 million per year and significantly increase the government’s contribution to the Korea-Mekong Cooperation Fund.

“President Moon’s vision, announced at ABIS, will be a policy direction of the government for the next five years to enhance relations with ASEAN,” Yoon said.

Moon’s speech was in line with his ongoing efforts to diversify the nation’s diplomatic horizon to bring South Korea’s relationship with ASEAN to the level of its relations with the four major powers active around the peninsula _ the United States, China, Japan and Russia.

The speech came after Moon unveiled his “New South Policy,” Nov. 9, in Jakarta, aimed at greatly improving Seoul’s diplomatic and economic relations with ASEAN. At the time, Moon said ties with these countries can play an important role in resolving the North Korean issue peacefully. He also said Seoul will seek to boost its annual trade volume with ASEAN to over $200 billion by 2020.

In his contribution to Project Syndicate, published Monday, President Moon made a similar statement, saying he will pursue “people-centered diplomacy” to advance relations between South Korea and ASEAN.

Project Syndicate is an international media organization that publishes and syndicates commentary and analysis of public figures in politics and economics on a variety of important global topics.

“My vision is to create, in cooperation with ASEAN, a peace-loving, people-centered community where all members are better off together,” he wrote. “This can be summed up in three Ps: People, Prosperity and Peace.”

Moon continued: “Korea and ASEAN share a common philosophy that values people, and that shared outlook will set the path that Korea and ASEAN take together in the years and decades ahead.”

Later in the day, Moon attended the annual Korea-ASEAN summit and discussed cooperation in various fields with the heads of member countries.

The President arrived in the Philippines Sunday after wrapping up his tour to Indonesia and Vietnam.

On Tuesday, Moon will take part in an ASEAN+3 forum, which brings ASEAN leaders and those from South Korea, Japan and China together, to check on their cooperation and future vision.

He will next attend an East Asia Summit (EAS) to discuss challenges in the region, including North Korean threats.

Moon will also attend a meeting about the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a free trade deal sought by 16 nations in the Asia-Pacific region.

Moon will return home Nov. 15.