US Ambassador highlights crucial of ASEAN consensus for US-ASEAN ties

6 hours ago

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Ambassador of the United States (US) to ASEAN Kevin Kim highlighted the importance of consensus decision-making in ASEAN for the development of US-ASEAN cooperation.

“Any agreement or consensus reached by its member states must have the buy-in from the entire region, which means that for any consensus that’s formed, the United States can work with the whole region,” Kim said in a closed discussion with the media here on Friday.

Kim said the consensus would be crucial in defining key issues for the region, for instance, the ASEAN consensus on the digital economy cooperation framework agreement. The framework was created because the region wants to advance the digital economy.

ASEAN’s efforts to advance energy security is also in order to have safer, more diverse and resilient energy sources.

If all members agree to it, as they did under the ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement, then it becomes a consensus-based project and idea that is truly aligned with the United States, Kim said.

“I’m actually very encouraged by the types of issues that we can work with ASEAN on, because they align with the future and strength of the United States,” he said.

The US Ambassador is also optimistic about the future of ASEAN and US cooperation since as an association, ASEAN’s bureaucrats cannot bind or dictate to sovereign national governments what to do.

Kim believes that ASEAN was uniquely designed and constructed in a distinctive way to advance the interests of sovereign governments in Southeast Asia countries. Such a condition provides a foundation for US cooperation with the region.

“If you read the President’s (Trump’s) speech from Riyadh last year, this administration fundamentally respects the core principle of national sovereignty. I think the platform is there for us to work at a regional level as well as at the national sovereign level,” the ambassador said.

The fact that ASEAN is able to shape and determine its own future based on its own capabilities and capacities is important for the US to continue its cooperation with the region.

Kim said US support for ASEAN norms, values, and centrality was part of the “broad political vision that we have for the future” as they are “fundamental to securing peace, security, and prosperity.”