MFA Press Release: Transcript of Speech by Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan for ASEAN Day Reception 2016, 18 Aug 2016

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan delivering the opening remarks at the 49th ASEAN Day reception at the Marina Mandarin Hotel on 18th August 2016. (Photo Credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore)

1                 Excellencies, Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is a pleasure to be here.  On behalf of all the Ambassadors of the countries who represent ASEAN, I wish you all a very warm welcome.  ASEAN is now 49 years, one year away from our Golden Jubilee.  When we first started off, I think very few people would have dared to imagine the breadth and the depth of what ASEAN would achieve over the next five decades.  Last year, ASEAN’s Leaders formally established the ASEAN Community.  Next year will be our 50th Jubilee and it will be a memorable milestone.  I hope that it will also reinforce our commitment to peace, stability and economic progress, assuming we continue to work together as well as we have over the past five decades.  ASEAN’s Community Vision of “ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together” affirms our shared desire to continue our journey to forge ahead and to deepen our integration.

2                 Let me first talk a bit about the ASEAN Economic Community.  Of the three pillars, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) perhaps impacts most of us most directly.  We believe that the freer flow of goods, services and capital within ASEAN as a result of lowering trade barriers will make ASEAN a more attractive destination for investments.  It will raise standards of living and create more jobs.  I am therefore pleased to see positive results on that front.  There is one statistic that may surprise many of you.  Investment inflows and ASEAN’s combined GDP have both doubled in less than a decade.  Imagine that – a doubling of investment inflows and of ASEAN’s combined GDP in less than a decade.

3                 And we need to build on this success.  ASEAN’s combined labour force is now the third largest in the world, behind China and India. It’s not just the absolute size that matters, but the fact that ASEAN has not yet fully reaped the benefits of the demographic dividend, because we have a young and dynamic population of over 620 million people, half of whom are below the age of 30.  I think if you look around this room, this is the reason that we have students here.  You represent the half of ASEAN that is below the age of 30.  And according to the Asian Development Bank, the size of the middle class in ASEAN will rise from 24 per cent to 65 per cent of the population by 2030.  2030 is 14 years from now, so again the students in this room will barely be 30 years old.  The reason for citing these statistics is to help us all appreciate the fact that we have tremendous growth potential.  It is there for us to harvest.

 4                 ASEAN’s geographic location alongside major markets such as China, India and Japan, and our connections further afield to the United States and Europe, will reinforce our position as an important link in the global value chain and as a preferred production base for both multinational companies and our own local companies, who will in turn become multinationals.  We have thus made significant progress in enhancing connectivity within ASEAN and this remains an area where we will continue to invest in the decades to come. It is not just about building more roads and more trains, but also the movement of people within ASEAN across all the different age groups.     

5                 This brings me to my second point, that ASEAN is not just about economics.  We are equally invested in the lives of our people.  And with the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, important issues such as social welfare, social justice and environmental sustainability are also being addressed.  It is critical that economic development be sustainable and that it will not come at the expense of our people’s well-being.  Only then will we make progress in the fullest sense of the word.  We have made significant progress.  ASEAN’s literacy rates have gone up by more than 90 per cent.  Equally important, I am glad to see so many women in the room.  Women are becoming more involved in the political process.  There is also growing interest in preserving our natural heritage and biodiversity.

6                 My third point is about ASEAN’s Community Vision of ASEAN 2025.  The recent event of Brexit was a salutary warning to all of us.  In order to realise a united and cohesive ASEAN Community, we have to communicate our vision effectively and convincingly to our citizens and to build grassroots support for ASEAN from the ground up.  There is no point in having great visions which are only shared by the apex of our society; it has to be a ground-up effort.  One way to do that is to educate our young people about the role that ASEAN plays and will continue to play in their daily lives.  I am glad that the students from Singapore’s 7th National-level ASEAN Quiz winning team are present here today, and I wish them all the best at the regional-level quiz that will be held in Vientiane later this month.

7                 I am also encouraged that schools and tertiary institutions often invite my MFA colleagues to give talks on ASEAN, and there are several hundred ASEAN Scholars who study in, and contribute richly to, our schools.  In addition, there are also several student-led initiatives on the ASEAN front including the annual Youth Model ASEAN Conference.  Such efforts and interactions build people-to-people links, deepen understanding, and will embed an ASEAN identity in the younger generation.  I want to commend the students and participants in all these efforts because this is a worthwhile endeavour.

8                 My next point is that ASEAN has to be prepared to face external challenges together.  We cannot assume that it will be smooth sailing in the decades to come.  After all, it wasn’t smooth sailing in the earlier five decades.  And as ASEAN gains greater international prominence, we must be steadfast in upholding a rules-based community that respects our shared values and the principles of international law.  These values and principles will enable ASEAN Member States to work together in order to confront common challenges, and to deal with more invidious threats such as the spectre of violent extremism. 

9                 Faced with such a threat, it is essential that we foster an even stronger sense of belonging, unity and cohesion within ASEAN and our citizens and promote cooperation between our countries.  The Jakarta bombings earlier this year serve as a grim reminder that we are not immune to extremists and ideologues who would destroy our way of life, erode our unity, and compromise our hard-earned progress over the decades.  It reminds us of the need to always be vigilant, and more importantly, to band together as a region which cherishes the diversity we have in our ethnicities, the languages we speak, and even the food that we eat. 

10                Let me conclude by saying that we have a splendid run of 49 years of history to be proud of, but the work does not stop here.  We have an obligation to ensure that ASEAN remains relevant and robust in the coming decades.  With the formation of the ASEAN Community, we hope to create an organisation that evolves with the demands of our people, and enables all of us to enjoy a higher quality of life, better jobs, peace and opportunities.  Most of all, we want every citizen to be proud to say that they come from ASEAN.  On that note, let me again wish everyone a happy ASEAN Day.  Reflect on the anthem that we sang, remember that our goal is peace and shared prosperity, and that we do so collectively on the basis of consensus and mutual respect amongst countries that are very different and very diverse, but can achieve so much through unity. 

11               Thank you.

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