South Korea-ASEAN Partnership Missing Legacy Project Even as Ties Deepen

The Straits Times

27 November 2019

South Korea and South-east Asia may have deepened ties and cooperation in numerous areas, but observers say the partnership still lacks a “legacy project” that will go down in history.

Dozens of memorandums of understanding were signed on the sidelines of the Asean-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit in Busan this week, as South Korea seeks to step up collaboration with Asean in areas ranging from technology and logistics to security and smart cities.

… Mr Shawn Ho, an associate research fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, agreed that it would be good to have a “signature initiative that people can connect to Asean and Korea”.

“It may not be on the same scale as China’s Belt and Road Initiative, or have the same magnitude as America’s Indo-Pacific Strategy. But it can be a signature project that lends focus to Asean-Korea ties.”

Categories:

IDSS / Online / Print

Last updated on 28/11/2019