Albanese's ASEAN challenge: Strengthening Australia's weak economic ties with some of our closest neighbours
The Albanese government will use the next few days in Melbourne to boost economic ties with Southeast Asia at a special ASEAN summit, which is expected to include a renewed push to help Australian tech companies expand into the region.
Addressing a joint sitting of the Australian Parliament last week, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr vowed his country would not yield "even one square inch" of its territory to any foreign power, a thinly veiled reference to China. The forceful comments came as Marcos signed a new maritime agreement with Australia, which has opened the door for more joint exercises in the contested waters of the South China Sea.
The speech on Thursday was another sign that the Philippines - which had previously been hedging its bets under former president Rodrigo Duterte - was edging closer into Australia’s camp of wanting to balance China. It is a blow to China’s growing militarisation of the South China Sea, where it has for more than decade been building artificial islands and defence bases out of coral reefs.
But for Australia, doing a deal with the Philippines and dealing with the whole of Southeast Asia are two very different things.
As ASEAN tries to negotiate with China over a code of conduct on the South China Sea, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will host the leaders of nine Southeast Asian nations, along with Timor-Leste, in Melbourne between Monday and Wednesday. It is the first ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in six years and marks the 50th year since Australia developed a formal partnership with the regional body.
