Envisioning a Brighter Post-Pandemic Global Relations – by H.E. Nadjib Riphat Kesoema

All nations of the world are awaiting the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Needless to say, it seems that the coronavirus will stay with us for a long time to come. This pandemic has taken more than one million lives and affected more than 40 million individuals. It is an unprecedented period where leaders of the world race to create strategies to protect their nation against further spread of the disease – a time where governments are pushed into crisis management mode, struggling to maintain the delicate balance between saving lives and livelihoods. A period requiring, more than ever before, solid engagement, communication, cooperation and sharing of ideas between nations to prepare for post-pandemic economic and social recovery.

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ASEAN-China Survey 2020 Report

In welcoming the 30th anniversary of the ASEAN-China relations next year, FPCI Research & Analysis department conducted a public survey about the ASEAN-China relationship from June until October 2020. The survey is titled “ASEAN-China Survey 2020: Assessing the Present and Envisioning the Future of ASEAN-China Relations.” The survey involved 1000 respondents from 10 ASEAN Member States and coming from five segments of the general public: government officials, academia, business community, civil society, and students.

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FPCI Virtual Public Forum on Assessing the Present and Envisioning the Future of ASEAN-China Relations

FPCI Virtual Public Forum on Assessing the Present and Envisioning the Future of ASEAN-China Relations

On Friday, 4 September 2020, Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) convened a virtual public forum on “Assessing the Present and Envisioning the Future of ASEAN-China Relations.” This public forum served as a form of ‘community briefing’ for ASEAN nationals on the preliminary findings of FPCI’s ASEAN-China Survey 2020. The forum was begin with an opening remarks from Dr. Dino Patti Djalal, Founder of FPCI.

The discussion was moderated by Dr. Shofwan Al Banna, Head of Undergraduate Programme of International Relations Department at the University of Indonesia, who is also the Senior Advisor of ASEAN-China Survey 2020 featuring the following panelists:
1) Dr. Kin Phea, Director General, International Relations Institute of Cambodia (IRIC)
2) Dr. Jayant Menon, Visiting Senior Fellow, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore
3) Dr. Ha Anh Tuan, Executive Director, Foundation for East Sea (SCS) Studies, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV)

The panel highlighted achievements that ASEAN and China have reached together and delivered substantive insights into identified challenges, gaps to be addressed, and opportunities to seize, based on the perspectives of the region’s grassroots community.

Key Takeaways of ASEAN-China Survey DiscussionDownload

FPCI Virtual Discussion “Calming Troubled Waters in the South China Sea”

From the past few months, tension in the South China Sea has been rising. On July 13, 2020, the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a press statement reaffirmed the United States’ commitment in the Indo-Pacific and rejected Beijing’s claims on the offshoring of resources in most of the South China Sea. Secretary Pompeo noted that the PRC has been “bullying” Southeast Asian claimants like the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. On the other side, the Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian called out the United States for its “intensified meddling” in the South China Sea maritime disputes, and accused the US as using the South China Sea issue as a “geopolitical game. In the middle of China and the United States’ disputes, Indonesia just recently conducted a four-day exercise in the area, which was noted by observers as a “major show of force” against Chinese claims to the area and for CCG vessels that have repeatedly trespassed Indonesia’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

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