Penny Wong pledges Australia’s commitment to ASEAN and its priorities

The Foreign Affairs Minister says Australia is committed to supporting ASEAN’s role in peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Jakarta on Thursday. Picture: AFP

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong says Australia is committed to supporting ASEAN’s role in peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and is ready to provide strong and practical support.

“Deepening Australia’s engagement with Southeast Asia is a priority for our government. Because ASEAN’s security is Australia’s security and ASEAN’s success is our success,” Senator Wong told the ASEAN summit in Jakarta on Thursday.

“We all want a region that safeguards our capacity to disagree, preserves state agency and protects our ability to decide our own destiny free from pressure.”

ASEAN has touted itself to be the anchor of regional multilateralism by inviting all dialogue partners, from Australia and the US, to China and Russia.

However its convening power and ASEAN centrality is under threat amid ­polarising interests in the Indo-Pacific region, including from the more recent formation of such groupings as the Quad and AUKUS.

But Senator Wong assured her counterparts that Australia supported ASEAN’s priorities to promote an environment for peace, stability and prosperity.

As this year’s host, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said ASEAN had big expectations for Australia to become a positive force in the region.

“We know that this is not an easy task amidst current geopolitical dynamics,” Ms Retno said.

“Therefore, we have to work hard to build an inclusive regional architecture where everyone feels safe and secure and contributes ­towards prosperity in the region.”

Senator Wong was expected to meet top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi later on Thursday night.

She did not confirm a meeting was locked in, or what she would discuss, but has been vocal about the Hong Kong police’s placing of bounties on activists including on two Australian residents.

“On the issue [of the Chinese crackdown on Hong Kong], I have been very clear about our position on the national security law and I’ve been very clear about Australia’s view about the importance of freedom of expression and the government and the Australian people’s commitment to safeguarding the rights of people in Australia, including Australian citizens, to exercise their freedom of expression,” she said.

On Wednesday, Retno hosted Senator Wong and Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar in a trilateral meeting.

They discussed regional issues “as fellow democracies” after hosting the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and China’s Mr Wang.

Senator Wong also had bilateral meetings with Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos on Wednesday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Mr Wang were expected to meet on Friday, nearly a month after the former travelled to Beijing, the first visit by the top US diplomat in nearly five years.