ASEAN and the Pacific Islands: Pathways for Collaboration on Climate and Sustainable Development
By Alana Ballagh
Alana Hoang Ballagh is a master’s student in the Energy and Resources Group at University of California, Berkeley.
The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the policies or positions of the Pacific Islands Development Program or the East-West Center.
Featured photo courtesy Thurtell via Getty Images.
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF)’s 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent lays out the region’s long-term approach for regional cooperation, which aims to “maintain environmental integrity and drive sustainable economic prosperity and development for all Pacific peoples.”1 Cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the PIF provides a significant opportunity for region-specific knowledge sharing, technical support, and joint initiatives to support this strategy.
On September 4, 2023, ASEAN and the PIF signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) committing the two regional organizations to increased collaboration on shared priority issues.2 The MoU explicates potential cooperation on maritime issues, regional connectivity, sustainable development, and economic partnerships.
More specifically, the PIF and ASEAN aim to collaborate on implementing the “blue economy,” a framework promoting sustainable use of oceans and inland water resources, people-to-people exchanges, disaster risk reduction, humanitarian assistance, and growing digital and green economies across the Indo-Pacific.3
Climate Change and Disasters
Disaster management is a critical concern for Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. Both regions are highly climate-vulnerable and disaster-prone, experiencing increasingly frequent typhoons, hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes, and droughts.4 Four Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs): Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu, and three ASEAN member states: Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, and Cambodia, ranked in the world’s top ten countries for disaster risk in 2010.5 The PIF’s 2050 Strategy consequently names climate change and disasters as one of ten priority areas, outlining goals to increase regional cooperation to improve resilience and disaster risk reduction mechanisms. Both regions stand to benefit from ASEAN’s successful coordination on disaster management and technical and financial capacity, as well as PICTs’ multi-stakeholder model to address climate-related risks.6
ASEAN brings specific expertise in member state coordination via the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) and long-standing ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre). The Centre leads on natural disaster monitoring and relief coordination, with experience deploying emergency responders, medical personnel, and large flows of international assistance, and providing first-responder training.7 Given the MoU’s stated promise of cooperation on people-to-people exchange and disaster risk reduction, ASEAN should prioritize extending disaster management training opportunities to PICTs. Under the AHA Centre, ASEAN hosts various courses training executive leaders and disaster management professionals on disaster management tools and regional coordination mechanisms.8
The Pacific Islands’ Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific provides a strong model for an integrated response to climate impacts and disaster risks.9 The framework also advances a model for multi-stakeholder engagement which supports information sharing and subsequent resource management.10 Increased cooperation with PICTs will benefit ASEAN member states as they expand their efforts towards a more integrated approach to disaster risk reduction.
Blue Economy
The “blue economy” framework reflects the need to protect ocean systems via the “sustainable, resilient, and inclusive use, governance, management, and conservation of oceans, seas, as well as marine and coastal resources and ecosystems,” while also prioritizing economic growth. The framework guides the PIF’s 2050 Strategy and ASEAN’s Blue Economy Framework.11
Various joint initiatives have focused on priority issues under the umbrella of blue economic partnerships since the MoU was signed. In May 2024, the ASEAN-Australia Indo-Pacific Workshop on the Use of Technology for Sustainable Aquaculture hosted attendees from ASEAN member countries and various PICTs.12 The workshop, hosted in Indonesia, highlighted the role of aquaculture in advancing food security, economic growth, and sustainability. Further, the Singapore-Pacific Resilience and Knowledge Sharing (SPARKS) package aims to support the PIF’s capacity-building goals under its 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, with planned courses in climate resilience, cybersecurity, and international law. The package launched in November 2023 during the 52nd PIF Leaders Meeting, Singapore’s first meeting as a Dialogue Partner.13
ASEAN and the PIF can further collaborate on focus areas under the greater blue economy umbrella such as food security, sustainability, and the digital economy. Joint initiatives which prioritize knowledge sharing around best practices for maritime resource development will support the MoU’s goals to expand people-to-people exchanges and increase regional connectivity on blue economic projects.
Regional Renewable Energy Transitions
Both ASEAN and the Pacific Islands have set ambitious renewable energy (RE) targets and host large RE potential but face challenges in implementing clean, resilient power systems.14 Potential points for cooperation include improving energy efficiency, securing adequate financing, and strengthening technical capacity.15 ASEAN and the Pacific’s successful renewable deployment over the last decade, particularly solar energy projects, provides an opportunity for increased cooperation on knowledge sharing and technical assistance initiatives.16 PICTs are increasingly looking to solar to meet their respective goals for energy access, utilize the region’s large solar potential, and move away from imported fuels towards energy self-sufficiency. However, RE expansion will require massive financial investments from private and public sectors and overseas development aid. ASEAN and the Pacific Islands are short of the necessary investments in their respective RE sectors and will benefit from collaboration on innovative financing approaches.17 Given both regions are highly disaster-prone, cooperation on strategies to harmonize risk requirement standards will be particularly beneficial.18
To achieve energy security in the Pacific, the PIF’s 2050 Strategy calls for energy efficiency improvements and more resilient energy systems. While most PICTs have committed to targets for RE electricity production, energy efficiency targets have received less attention.19 Cooperation with ASEAN will thus benefit from member states’ focus on energy efficiency. Malaysia and Thailand lead the region in initiating innovative financial instruments and specialized financial models for energy efficiency.20
Challenges for Cooperation
While the ASEAN-PIF MoU provides some guidance for continued regional cooperation on numerous target issues and makes clear ASEAN and the PIF’s commitment to a more integrated Indo-Pacific, challenges persist. Regional cooperation on infrastructure development and disaster management requires aligning diverse priorities and mobilizing large amounts of financial and technical resources. To accompany the existing MoU, which notes larger spheres for cooperation, ASEAN and the PIF should prioritize a joint implementation plan, building upon the PIF’s existing 2050 Strategy Implementation Plan 2023-2030, to articulate specific goals and strategies which align with member interests and collaboratively address gaps in financing and capacity for sustainable development.
References
1 Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, (Suva: Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2022), 9, https://forumsec.org/sites/default/files/2023-11/PIFS-2050-Strategy-BluePacific-Continent-WEB-5Aug2022-1.pdf.
2 Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Pacific Islands Forum, “Memorandum of Understanding Between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Pacific Islands Forum,” September 4, 2023, https://asean.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Signed-MoU-between-ASEAN-and-PIF-4-Sep-2023.pdf.
3 Shushant VC Parashar, “Blue Economy in the Indo-Pacific: The Need to Create a Cooperative Framework,” Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs (2024), https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/JIPA/Display/Article/3703814/blue-economy-in-the-indo-pacific-the-need-tocreate-a-cooperative-framework.
4 Sushil Gupta, Synthesis Report on Ten ASEAN Countries Disaster Risks Assessment (UNISDR and World Bank, 2010), https://www.unisdr.org/files/18872_asean.pdf.
5 Peter Mucke, “Logistics, infrastructure and risk analysis” in World Risk Report 2016, ed. Lars Jeschonnek (Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft, 2016), 11, https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:5763/WorldRiskReport2016_small_meta.pdf.
6 Gabrielle Emery, “The Pacific and ASEAN: Sharing experiences on regional governance to enable effective partnerships and support resilient communities,” International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, November 13, 2017, https://disasterlaw.ifrc.org/node/448.
7 Mely Caballero-Anthony, Alistair D. B. Cook, and Jonatan Lassa, “Disaster Management in Southeast Asia: 20 Years of Progress and Challenges,” RSIS Commentary no. 28 (2023), https://www.rsis.edu.sg/rsis- publication/nts/disaster-management-in-southeast-asia-20-years-of-progress-and-challenges/?doing_wp_cron=1677830612.6909389495849609375000#.ZAG5_HZBzIW; “AHA Centre Emerges as Regional Leader in Disaster Relief,” February 2020, https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/02.19.20_-USAID-DCHA_Success_Story-_AHA_Centre_Emerges_as_Regional_Leader_in_Disaster_Response.pdf.
8 AHA Centre, “Our Aim,” https://ahacentre.org/ace-our-aim/.
9 Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific (Suva: SPC, 2016), https://gsd.spc.int/frdp/assets/FRDP_2016_Resilient_Dev_pacific.pdf.
10 J.M.A. Duncan et al., “Managing multifunctional landscapes: Local insights from a Pacific Island Country context,” Journal of Environmental Management 260 (2020): 8, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109692.
11 “Asean Blue Economy Framework,” https://asean.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ASEAN-Blue- Economy-Framework.pdf.
12 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, “Indonesia Drives ASEAN-Indo-Pacific Collaboration to Advance Sustainable Aquaculture Technology,” May 23, 2024, https://kemlu.go.id/berita/indonesia-dorong-kolaborasi-asean-indo-pasifik-untuk-memajukan-teknologi-budidaya-perikanan-berkelanjutan?type=publication.
13 Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore, “Visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan to the Cook Islands for the 52nd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, 9 to 11 November 2023,” November 11, 2023, https://www.mfa.gov.sg/Newsroom/Press-Statements-Transcripts-and-Photos/2023/11/20231110pif.
14 Katerina Syngellakis and Peter Johnston, “Energy Security in the Pacific,” in The Water, Energy, and Food Security Nexus in Asia and the Pacific (Springer Cham, 2024): 65; Asian Development Bank, “The Pacific Islands: The Push for Renewable Energy,” May 1, 2019, https://www.adb.org/results/pacific-islands-push- renewable-energy.
15 Kalim U. Shah, “Clean Energy Transitions in the Pacific Islands Present Opportunities for Strategic US Economic Partnerships,” Asia Pacific Bulletin (East West Center, 2022), https://www.eastwestcenter.org/publications/clean-energy-transitions-in-the-pacific-islands-present-opportunities- strategic-us.
16 International Renewable Energy Agency, “SIDS Lighthouses Initiative,” June 2023, https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2023/May/IRENA_SIDS_LHI_progress_2023.pdf; Goutam Goutam Kumar Dalapati et al., “Maximizing solar energy production in ASEAN region: Opportunity and challenges,” Results in Engineering 20 (2023): 2, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2023.101525.
17 Roman Vakulchuk, Indra Overland, and Beni Suryadi, “ASEAN’s energy transition: how to attract more investment in renewable energy,” Energy, Ecology, and Environment 8, no. 1 (2023): 2, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40974-022-00261-6; World Economic Forum, “The small island states making big strides towards 100% renewable energy,” May 31, 2024, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2024/05/small-island-states-making-big-strides-towards-net-zero/.
18 Shah, “Clean Energy Transitions.”
19 Syngellakis and Johnston, “Energy Security in the Pacific.”
20 Yang Liu and Riasat Noor, “Energy Efficiency in ASEAN: Trends and Financing Schemes,” Asia Development Bank Institute 1196 (2020): 12, https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/648701/adbi- wp1196.pdf.