External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi in Jakarta on Thursday. The EAM`s ongoing visit is his first to an ASEAN member state after assuming charge.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi in Jakarta on Thursday. The EAM`s ongoing visit is his first to an ASEAN member state after assuming charge. The two sides talked about the common challenges faced by their countries, as well as their mutual support for principles of territorial integrity. "Pleasure to meet my Indonesian counterpart @Menlu_RI. My 1st bilateral visit as EAM to ASEAN. Drawing on historical linkages to fashion a modern partnership. Agreed to address common challenges & explore shared opportunities. Our talks highlighted mutual support for territorial integrity," Jaishankar tweeted. Pleasure to meet my Indonesian counterpart @Menlu_RI. My 1st bilat’l visit as EAM to ASEAN.Drawing on historical linkages to fashion a modern partnership.Agreed to address common challenges&explore shared opportunities.Our talks highlightd mutual support for territorial integrity pic.twitter.com/5R4Iw0wlDt — Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) September 5, 2019 × "FM Jaishankar and I agreed to step up cooperation in Aceh - Andaman/Nicobar connectivity. Indonesia stands ready to participate in its infrastructure and connectivity development. Indonesia and India also agreed to strengthen Indo-Pacific cooperation," Marsudi tweeted after their exchange. This is the first visit of a Union Minister to Indonesia after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government came into power for a second term. The three-day visit -- from September 4 to 6 -- reflects the high priority India attaches to its bilateral relationship with Indonesia, which is a Comprehensive Strategic Partner. New Delhi and Jakarta also share vision on maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.After wrapping up his official engagements in Indonesia, the EAM is scheduled to travel to Singapore from September 6 to 10. He is slated to co-chair the 6th meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) with his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan.

Jaishankar holds talks with Indonesian counterpart Marsudi

ASEAN hopes to generate tangible and concrete deliverables. Listen in to Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia in India, @suryodipuro's thoughts on #WIONWorldOrder.

WION World Order: ASEAN hopes to generate tangible, concrete deliverables says Indonesian Ambassador

When the world was analysed in the categories of bipolar interaction, the presence of regional or sub-regional subsystems was subordinate to the logic of a global division into two worlds.&nbsp;

This exclusivity is today challenged by logistic visions reflecting contemporary geopolitics that is likely to recreate the context within which regions and ‘regional’ organisations are perceived.&nbsp;

While this re-imaging presents various possibilities, the overlapping of states, no longer contained within clear bipolar divisions in multilateral ‘regional’ organisations, is a case in point. &nbsp;

Traditionally, three central elements have been identified by analysts as constituting the core elements of regionalism. First, a common historical experience and a sense of shared problems among a geographically distinct group of states/societies, which constituted a region.&nbsp;

Second, close linkages of a distinct kind between those states/societies; in other words recognition of a boundary to the region within which interactions would be more intense than those with the outside world or regionalisation.&nbsp;

Finally, the emergence of an organisation giving shape to the region in a legal and institutional sense and providing rules of the game within the region, the element of conscious policy which is central to regionalism.&nbsp;

Therefore, while dealing with regionalism three elements were considered to be important. The first related to the spatial dimension of regionalism, i.e., how large is the area covered and its definition. &nbsp;

A second related to its scope; in other words the tasks or areas of interaction covered by the region or by the regional organisation. A third feature was the level and extent of the organisation.&nbsp;

These three were considered to be useful since they indicated the variety and unevenness of regionalism and also brought into focus the fact that regional organisations recognise boundaries both in terms of spatial dimension as well as in terms of scope and in recent years both have been challenged.&nbsp;

As such an understanding of complex regional alignments may be the key to comprehending the success or failure of economic diplomacy supported by large scale infrastructural projects and economic corridors that seem to be the hallmark of global politics today.&nbsp;

‘Regional’ organisations like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) today include as its ‘dialogue partners’ states as geographically separated as Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia and Nepal.&nbsp;

Similarly, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) that began as a free trade agreement between the ten member states of the ASEAN and the six states with which the ASEAN has existing free trade agreement, will in all probability be expanded with the inclusion of states like Peru and Chile.&nbsp;

It also brings into question the spatial aspect of the ‘regional’ economic partnership that would include Latin America within the new Asia Pacific trade order.

In fact institutions like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which includes 17 non-contiguous Asian and European states, including China and India, may become a new ‘region’ in terms of significance.&nbsp;

This Chinese initiative supports Beijing’s logistic vision of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the aim to bring South Asian economies closer to China, Central Asia and West Asia.&nbsp;

However, while the replacement of ‘regional’ organisations by logistical spaces reduces the viability of ‘regions’ as geographically designed entities, economic corridors move towards ‘regional’ integration on the assumption that development is a wider collective process.

Nevertheless, both underline that global dynamics related to the management of infrastructure across borders will contribute to the creation of semi-autonomous governing bodies and to a redefinition of social and labour laws and relations across a number of states.&nbsp;

Corridors entail a direct role for the authorities ruling in the spaces they cross, including city/village councils, regions and states and international organisations concerned with trade, development and cross-border activities, while at the same time producing new governing dynamics and management agencies, whose role is growing as a consequence of the relevance assumed by transport connectivity and logistical infrastructure for global exchanges.

In real terms, that would result not just from strategies developed by the Chinese government-led companies, but also because these would confront diverse relations between public governance and private policies about economic corridors in different states requiring the development of new forms of diplomacy and geopolitical projections and a subsequent redefinition of relations between representative institutions and the governance practice of global logistics organisations.&nbsp;

It would also create the possibility of a situation where governance itself moves from traditional sites to the competing sites of economic corridors that coexist on a global scale.&nbsp;

(This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the <a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-seamless-connectivity-and-the-changing-world-order-2735161">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

When the world was analysed in the categories of bipolar interaction, the presence of regional or sub-regional subsystems was subordinate to the logic of a global division into two worlds.

When the world was analysed in the categories of bipolar interaction, the presence of regional or sub-regional subsystems was subordinate to the logic of a global division into two worlds. This exclusivity is today challenged by logistic visions reflecting contemporary geopolitics that is likely to recreate the context within which regions and ‘regional’ organisations are perceived. While this re-imaging presents various possibilities, the overlapping of states, no longer contained within clear bipolar divisions in multilateral ‘regional’ organisations, is a case in point. Traditionally, three central elements have been identified by analysts as constituting the core elements of regionalism. First, a common historical experience and a sense of shared problems among a geographically distinct group of states/societies, which constituted a region. Second, close linkages of a distinct kind between those states/societies; in other words recognition of a boundary to the region within which interactions would be more intense than those with the outside world or regionalisation. Finally, the emergence of an organisation giving shape to the region in a legal and institutional sense and providing rules of the game within the region, the element of conscious policy which is central to regionalism. Therefore, while dealing with regionalism three elements were considered to be important. The first related to the spatial dimension of regionalism, i.e., how large is the area covered and its definition. A second related to its scope; in other words the tasks or areas of interaction covered by the region or by the regional organisation. A third feature was the level and extent of the organisation. These three were considered to be useful since they indicated the variety and unevenness of regionalism and also brought into focus the fact that regional organisations recognise boundaries both in terms of spatial dimension as well as in terms of scope and in recent years both have been challenged. As such an understanding of complex regional alignments may be the key to comprehending the success or failure of economic diplomacy supported by large scale infrastructural projects and economic corridors that seem to be the hallmark of global politics today. ‘Regional’ organisations like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) today include as its ‘dialogue partners’ states as geographically separated as Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia and Nepal. Similarly, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) that began as a free trade agreement between the ten member states of the ASEAN and the six states with which the ASEAN has existing free trade agreement, will in all probability be expanded with the inclusion of states like Peru and Chile. It also brings into question the spatial aspect of the ‘regional’ economic partnership that would include Latin America within the new Asia Pacific trade order. In fact institutions like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which includes 17 non-contiguous Asian and European states, including China and India, may become a new ‘region’ in terms of significance. This Chinese initiative supports Beijing’s logistic vision of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the aim to bring South Asian economies closer to China, Central Asia and West Asia. However, while the replacement of ‘regional’ organisations by logistical spaces reduces the viability of ‘regions’ as geographically designed entities, economic corridors move towards ‘regional’ integration on the assumption that development is a wider collective process. Nevertheless, both underline that global dynamics related to the management of infrastructure across borders will contribute to the creation of semi-autonomous governing bodies and to a redefinition of social and labour laws and relations across a number of states. Corridors entail a direct role for the authorities ruling in the spaces they cross, including city/village councils, regions and states and international organisations concerned with trade, development and cross-border activities, while at the same time producing new governing dynamics and management agencies, whose role is growing as a consequence of the relevance assumed by transport connectivity and logistical infrastructure for global exchanges. In real terms, that would result not just from strategies developed by the Chinese government-led companies, but also because these would confront diverse relations between public governance and private policies about economic corridors in different states requiring the development of new forms of diplomacy and geopolitical projections and a subsequent redefinition of relations between representative institutions and the governance practice of global logistics organisations. It would also create the possibility of a situation where governance itself moves from traditional sites to the competing sites of economic corridors that coexist on a global scale. (This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

Seamless connectivity and the changing world order

Southeast Asian nations overcame days of deadlock today when the Philippines dropped a request for their joint statement to mention a landmark legal ruling on the South China Sea, officials said, after objections from Cambodia. 
 
Beijing publicly thanked Cambodia for supporting its stance on maritime disputes, a position which threw the regional bloc&#39;s weekend meeting in the Laos capital of Vientiane into disarray. 
 
Competing claims with China in the vita shipping are among the most contentious issues for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with its 10 members pulled between their desire to assert their sovereignty while finding common ground and fostering political and commercial ties with Beijing. 
 
Communique insists on peaceful resolutions&nbsp; 
 
China claims most of the sea, but ASEAN members -- the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei -- all have rival claims. In a ruling by the UN-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration on July 12, the Philippines won an emphatic legal victory over China on the dispute. 
 
The Philippines and Vietnam both wanted the ruling, which denied China&#39;s sweeping claims in the strategic seaway that channels more than $ 5 trillion in global trade each year, and a call to respect international maritime law to feature in the communique. 
 
Calling for bilateral discussions, Cambodia opposed the wording on the ruling, diplomats said. 
 
Manila agreed to drop the reference to the ruling in the communique, one ASEAN diplomat said today, in an effort to prevent the disagreement leading to the group failing to issue a statement. 
 
The communique referred instead to the need to find peaceful resolutions to disputes in the South China Sea in accordance with international law, including the United Nations&#39; law of the sea, to which the court ruling referred. 
 
&quot;We remain seriously concerned about recent and ongoing developments and took note of the concerns expressed by some ministers on the land reclamations and escalation of activities in the area, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region,&quot; the ASEAN communique said. 
 
It was important to avoid militarisation of the region, and for freedom of navigation to be maintained, ASEAN said. 
 
Beijing says the court ruling has no bearing on its rights in the sea, and described the case as a farce. 
 
Cambodia&#39;s position was the right one and would safeguard unity of ASEAN and cooperation with China, China&#39;s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Cambodia&#39;s Foreign Minister Prak Sokhon, according to a statement posted on China&#39;s Foreign Ministry website early today. 
 
&quot;China greatly approves of Cambodia and other ASEAN countries taking charge of impartiality and safeguarding fairness,&quot; Wang said. 
 
China frequently blames the United States for raising tensions in the region and has warned regional rival Japan to steer clear of the dispute. 
 
&quot;We will not permit any outside force to seek to exploit and hype up the so-called South China Sea arbitration case and bring chaos to this region,&quot; Wang said. 
 
Major powers arrive 
 
The United States, allied with the Philippines and cultivating closer relations with Vietnam, has called on China to respect the court&#39;s ruling. 
 
It has criticised China&#39;s building of artificial islands and facilities in the sea and has sailed warships close to the disputed territory to assert freedom of navigation rights. 
 
US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Laos capital today. 
 
He is expected to discuss maritime issues in a meeting with Wang, as well as in meetings with ASEAN members. 
 
Both are in town for the ASEAN regional forum and East Asia summits, which bring ASEAN diplomats together with the US, China, Japan, Russia and several other countries. 
 
Kerry will urge ASEAN nations to explore diplomatic ways to ease tension over Asia&#39;s biggest potential military flashpoint, a senior US official said ahead of his trip. 
 
Barack Obama is set to become the first US president to visit Laos, attending an annual summit in September. 
 
Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is also in Laos, making her debut at ASEAN meetings as the foreign minister for Myanmar. 
 
(Reuters)

Philippines agreed to drop the reference to ruling in communique,to prevent disagreement leading to the group failing to issue a statement

Southeast Asian nations overcame days of deadlock today when the Philippines dropped a request for their joint statement to mention a landmark legal ruling on the South China Sea, officials said, after objections from Cambodia. Beijing publicly thanked Cambodia for supporting its stance on maritime disputes, a position which threw the regional bloc's weekend meeting in the Laos capital of Vientiane into disarray. Competing claims with China in the vita shipping are among the most contentious issues for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with its 10 members pulled between their desire to assert their sovereignty while finding common ground and fostering political and commercial ties with Beijing. Communique insists on peaceful resolutions China claims most of the sea, but ASEAN members -- the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei -- all have rival claims. In a ruling by the UN-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration on July 12, the Philippines won an emphatic legal victory over China on the dispute. The Philippines and Vietnam both wanted the ruling, which denied China's sweeping claims in the strategic seaway that channels more than $ 5 trillion in global trade each year, and a call to respect international maritime law to feature in the communique. Calling for bilateral discussions, Cambodia opposed the wording on the ruling, diplomats said. Manila agreed to drop the reference to the ruling in the communique, one ASEAN diplomat said today, in an effort to prevent the disagreement leading to the group failing to issue a statement. The communique referred instead to the need to find peaceful resolutions to disputes in the South China Sea in accordance with international law, including the United Nations' law of the sea, to which the court ruling referred. "We remain seriously concerned about recent and ongoing developments and took note of the concerns expressed by some ministers on the land reclamations and escalation of activities in the area, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the region," the ASEAN communique said. It was important to avoid militarisation of the region, and for freedom of navigation to be maintained, ASEAN said. Beijing says the court ruling has no bearing on its rights in the sea, and described the case as a farce. Cambodia's position was the right one and would safeguard unity of ASEAN and cooperation with China, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Cambodia's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhon, according to a statement posted on China's Foreign Ministry website early today. "China greatly approves of Cambodia and other ASEAN countries taking charge of impartiality and safeguarding fairness," Wang said. China frequently blames the United States for raising tensions in the region and has warned regional rival Japan to steer clear of the dispute. "We will not permit any outside force to seek to exploit and hype up the so-called South China Sea arbitration case and bring chaos to this region," Wang said. Major powers arrive The United States, allied with the Philippines and cultivating closer relations with Vietnam, has called on China to respect the court's ruling. It has criticised China's building of artificial islands and facilities in the sea and has sailed warships close to the disputed territory to assert freedom of navigation rights. US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Laos capital today. He is expected to discuss maritime issues in a meeting with Wang, as well as in meetings with ASEAN members. Both are in town for the ASEAN regional forum and East Asia summits, which bring ASEAN diplomats together with the US, China, Japan, Russia and several other countries. Kerry will urge ASEAN nations to explore diplomatic ways to ease tension over Asia's biggest potential military flashpoint, a senior US official said ahead of his trip. Barack Obama is set to become the first US president to visit Laos, attending an annual summit in September. Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is also in Laos, making her debut at ASEAN meetings as the foreign minister for Myanmar. (Reuters)

ASEAN breaks deadlock on South China Sea, Beijing thanks Cambodia for support

Vietnam has warned that the inability of Southeast Asian nations to forge a unified front against Beijing&#39;s militarisation of the South China Sea is a &quot;test&quot; of the regional bloc in the face of its greatest security challenge. 
 
The unusually strong comments from a key claimant to the contested waters, comes as diplomats meet in Laos for the first summit since a UN-backed tribunal debunked Beijing&#39;s legal claim to vast stretches of the strategically vital sea. 
 
After talks stuttered on Sunday, Vietnam&#39;s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a late night statement warning that the South China Sea had become &quot;a test case for the unity and the central role of ASEAN&quot;. 
 
&quot;Many ministers stressed that in this context, ASEAN should promote solidarity, unity and a central role,&quot; the statement added. 
 
Diplomats met for a new round of crunch talks, called for by Laos today morning.&nbsp;As they came to a close, Indonesia&#39;s foreign minister, Retno Marsudi, expressed optimism that a statement would be agreed to, though diplomats previously told AFP it would likely be &quot;watered down&quot;. 
 
Staunch Beijing ally Cambodia has been accused of scuppering efforts by the bloc to issue a joint statement calling on Beijing to adhere to the UN tribunal&#39;s decision.&nbsp;Four ASEAN members - Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei have competing claims with Beijing over parts of the South China Sea.&nbsp; 
 
Most members of the bloc want to keep pressure on China over its campaign of island building in the strategic waters.&nbsp;But ASEAN operates on a tradition of consensus diplomacy, meaning a single nation can have an effective veto power if it disagrees with the others. 
 
China has been accused of teasing poorer members like Laos and Cambodia into fracturing regional unity with promises of aid and trade.&nbsp;Critics have long derided ASEAN for lacking real diplomatic clout. 
 
A failure to respond to the tribunal ruling or the region&#39;s key security issue will do little to counter those claims.&nbsp;The ongoing impasse in Vientiane has led to fears of a repeat of a 2012 summit in Cambodia, where the bloc failed to issue a joint communique for the first time in its history because of disagreements over the South China Sea. 
 
Chinese pressure was blamed last month for a startling show of discord by the bloc, when countries swiftly disowned a joint statement released by Malaysia after an ASEAN-China meeting.&nbsp;That statement had expressed alarm over Beijing&#39;s activities in the South China Sea. Cambodia and Laos were later fingered as being behind moves to block the joint statement. 
 
(AFP)

Four ASEAN members - Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei have competing claims with Beijing over parts of the South China Sea

Vietnam has warned that the inability of Southeast Asian nations to forge a unified front against Beijing's militarisation of the South China Sea is a "test" of the regional bloc in the face of its greatest security challenge. The unusually strong comments from a key claimant to the contested waters, comes as diplomats meet in Laos for the first summit since a UN-backed tribunal debunked Beijing's legal claim to vast stretches of the strategically vital sea. After talks stuttered on Sunday, Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a late night statement warning that the South China Sea had become "a test case for the unity and the central role of ASEAN". "Many ministers stressed that in this context, ASEAN should promote solidarity, unity and a central role," the statement added. Diplomats met for a new round of crunch talks, called for by Laos today morning. As they came to a close, Indonesia's foreign minister, Retno Marsudi, expressed optimism that a statement would be agreed to, though diplomats previously told AFP it would likely be "watered down". Staunch Beijing ally Cambodia has been accused of scuppering efforts by the bloc to issue a joint statement calling on Beijing to adhere to the UN tribunal's decision. Four ASEAN members - Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei have competing claims with Beijing over parts of the South China Sea. Most members of the bloc want to keep pressure on China over its campaign of island building in the strategic waters. But ASEAN operates on a tradition of consensus diplomacy, meaning a single nation can have an effective veto power if it disagrees with the others. China has been accused of teasing poorer members like Laos and Cambodia into fracturing regional unity with promises of aid and trade. Critics have long derided ASEAN for lacking real diplomatic clout. A failure to respond to the tribunal ruling or the region's key security issue will do little to counter those claims. The ongoing impasse in Vientiane has led to fears of a repeat of a 2012 summit in Cambodia, where the bloc failed to issue a joint communique for the first time in its history because of disagreements over the South China Sea. Chinese pressure was blamed last month for a startling show of discord by the bloc, when countries swiftly disowned a joint statement released by Malaysia after an ASEAN-China meeting. That statement had expressed alarm over Beijing's activities in the South China Sea. Cambodia and Laos were later fingered as being behind moves to block the joint statement. (AFP)

Vietnam warns South China Sea is a 'test' of ASEAN

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Jaishankar holds talks with Indonesian counterpart Marsudi

WION World Order: ASEAN hopes to generate tangible, concrete deliverables says Indonesian Ambassador

Seamless connectivity and the changing world order

ASEAN breaks deadlock on South China Sea, Beijing thanks Cambodia for support

Vietnam warns South China Sea is a 'test' of ASEAN