Asia's Geopolitical Outlook

all right good morning everyone could we just start by giving a big round of applause for our esteemed panel here and the stage with me thank you so hello everyone and a very warm welcome to the World Economic Forum's panel discussion titled geopolitics and Asia threats and opportunities we are coming to you with a live audience from the National Convention Centre in hanoi vietnam i'm julie you on what Channel News Asia and this panel was discussed and developed in close collaboration with the wonderful folks here a World Economic Forum the today's topic cannot be more timely given Asia's geopolitical realities you know we've seen the peace barometer in Asia swing between two extremes of nuclear tensions on the Korean Peninsula historic peace talks and ongoing security concerns on the South China Sea and also the increased friction and competition between the United States and China for dominance in Asia that these shifting landscape spec the question is Asia's geopolitical outlook more optimistic or pessimistic and how the US and sano rivalry define the future of this continent and also what should the regional players like ASEAN as a grouping do to preserve peace and stability in Asia that we will explore these questions with our distinguished guests I'm very pleased to be here with such great names I'm sure we don't need an introduction but I'm sure will benefit from their insights and their perspectives in the next hour and at the same time we'll be this is not going to be a one-way discussion we'll invite you our audience to take part so please challenge our esteemed panelists and the Q&A session later and the prosper program so without further ado ladies and gentlemen please allow me to introduce my very illustrious panel starting to my left we're honored to have mr. Rana Vikram Singh ha he's the prime minister of Sri Lanka to his left mr. Fehmi min Deputy Prime Minister and foreign minister of Vietnam to his left we are pleased to be joined by Miss Kongo hot foreign minister of South Korea and to her left mr. tato kono Minister of Foreign Minister of Japan and dr. Lin Colin Lee senior research fellow at the University of Cambridge she's also the Associate Fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Asia so welcome and thank you for joining us I'd like to kick start by opposing this question to everyone here on the panel three key things that you're most concerned about you're watching out for in Asia's geopolitics perhaps you can start Prime Minister thank you thank you for calling me and also asking me mentioned my three concerns the first looking at geopolitics of Asia and the frictions between America and China I I would be concerned about how the rebalancing of global order takes place this is in the background of the rebalancing that finally the us-china relationships have to be determined and with that the geopolitics of Asia it's in the last 70 years after the war especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union since in Asia come up and original Understanding between China and us seems to be operating partially and with the within it we have to now work out the relationships and the issue of China is the China is not it's not many nations but China is also in Europe in other areas so that's the first issue secondly the issue of the Indian Ocean or the Indo Pacific as we are now called which again relates to the role of China within the Indian Ocean and how do you ensure that within the Indian Ocean and in the Pacific uncross is respected from that comes the third connected issue what happens to the multilateral order what we built up has been a multilateral order is that multilateral or DK will it be diminished or can we strengthen the multilateral order if the multilateral order is no longer there then what is going to replace it so these would be the three concerns that I have but none of them keep me awake thank you very much prime minister definitely furniture please and ko-teng usually for the questions I think that I have many things to be concerned but since you asked so III concerns and the first concern is that for me this is the fourth industry a Industrial Revolution yesterday and today and this is also the theme of the forum and yesterday we talked about the opportunities the fourth Industrial Revolution yes for sure it is undeniable that the revolutions of tremendous opportunities but if the country cannot take cannot seize the opportunities they can be left behind and they cover the development gap will be widened then it would lead to the transformations of the geo economic as well as geopolitical landscape so that would be the threat to the countries that cannot seize the opportunities and the second concern is that the worrying trend of the rise of the nationalism protectionism as well as power politics strategic competition that lead to the choice of the nation's big or small to adapt to that situation and the third one is that the traditional and non-traditional security continue to be a threat including the maritime disputes the climate change cyber security days etc so those are the concerns that I have thank you for a minister thank you very much for sharing your thoughts Minister Gong what keeps you up at night well I think three things you asked for and I think many of these issues are interrelated so they can be packaged into three key areas of course for my government's point of view getting traction on the new denuclearization and peace process that is very now much in in motion it's a daily concern to get movement on this but if we compare where we were a year ago I think we're in a much better situation a year ago we were faced with growing tension and confrontation with North Korea testing its sixth nuclear test nuclear weapons test and and a series of missile testing as well and as a result the global community has responded with a series of sanctions resolutions which remain in place because these will remain in place until we see are assured of North Korea's denuclearization compared to that situation where we are today after two South North Korean summits the first ever u.s. North Korea summit and through these summits the three countries agreeing to work towards complete denuclearization and by that mean we mean North Korea's completely nuclearization and also going to work towards a more stable peace regime to replace the Armistice regime which is currently in fact so in the larger scheme of things we made huge progress but getting traction on the negotiations to get to that goal is is a daily concern we are currently preparing or a third summit meeting between my president and the chairman of North Korea next week in Pyongyang and hoping that this will be a significant step forward on denuclearization and peace second point rising protectionism and I think that's very much related to the rising nationalism in countries and doors closing its most visible in the trade area but it is also visible in in terms of the whole migration issue I think either in this age of globalization people movement is a natural part of daily life and I think the world has responded with openness but in recent years post the migration crisis in Europe and we see this happening everywhere the doors are closing and I think that will be a huge loss because co-prosperity in this globalization age very much depends on this exchange of people across borders obviously you have to contain the negative side effects of this and that's very much our prerogative of national governments to control their borders but we must do it in a way that that that leaves the doors as open as possible about the people exchanged so protectionism and rising national nationalism and of course that protectionist trends in in the trade area is a particular concern it's a concern for all of us who thrive on free and fair trade but South Korea is very dependent on our external trade and economic relations and so you know I think those of us who are for fair and free trade should should make sure that this trend is is countered with greater efforts to preserve the multilateral trading system and thirdly we are promoting a new policy to strengthen our relations with our southern neighbors ASEAN India Pakistan Sri Lanka there are other competing I think initiatives in this area the indo-pacific initiative the one belt and road initiative and it's good that we have these initiatives because it underscores the the centrality of this region the centrality of ASEAN but we must ensure that the initiatives are promoted in a way that's complementary that preserves the openness the inclusivity and and the transparency and very much in line with established international norms mr. ko thank you very much I would like to move on to you Minister kono three key things well their biggest headache or biggest concern is probably the climate change the sea water level is very high and we are getting stronger typhoon strongest cyclone heavy heavy rain once in 100 year rain turn out to be once in two years and it is not just an environmental issue it would lead to the issue of water supply management or food security and this is challenge for entire mankind so we really need to be serious about taking care of this climate change issue the second concern is any unilateral attempt to change the status quo in Asia I think we need to establish rule based international order and any unilateral challenge to start school I think international community need to stand up against it and certainly the collapse of multilateralism starting starting from the trade war I think the trade need to be also rule-based we have a WTO and TT or IMF Bretton Woods those liberal international order led to the successful global economy and now there is some challenge to this multilateral international order and we need to preserve that I think that's the three issues since foreign minister Kahn talked about Korean Peninsula I will skip that issue Minister kono thank you very much and dr. Lin thanks so much I think Southeast Asia's geopolitical landscape will be determined by three main factors the first development that I'll be watching out for are really developments in the South China Sea China is consolidating its control over the region and its resources in the South China Sea I understand according to reports that it's thrice threatened Vietnam with military action should it continue to drill for oil and gas in this exclusive economic zone this took place in July last year as well as in March and May this year I think this matters because it will change the balance of power in the region as well as determine where the behavior in the region is governed by might or by right China claims that the region is at peace and that in an it's in regional harmony but I think this has largely been a result of the weaker countries or the smaller countries in the region suffering what they must the second development that I would look out for is really the Belton Road initiative and how that unfolds I think it's got tremendous opportunity to increase connectivity in the region and boost millions of people out of poverty so it's it will be wonderful if this really worked however it's not free of course of risks and I think the recent case of the seeding of strategic assets in the region including in Sri Lanka last year when Sri Lanka was unable to repay the debts undertaken by the previous government I think that was a cautionary tale but of course even without street seating strategic assets we have the concern with increasing Chinese product projects in the region actually leading to increase Chinese influence and the third thing I would be looking out for is how geostrategic developments the broader geostrategic developments in the region actually have implications for domestic dynamics now many countries in Southeast Asia are multi-ethnic and so if China seeks to persuade as it is seeking to do certain domestic and constituents within countries that they should ally itself with China's position on certain issues then this has destabilizing implications for the for internal dynamics within countries and across borders as well and of course with increasing Chinese presence in the region through baton road initiatives we also have changing dynamics ethnic dynamics within these countries which we need to be very careful about and manage carefully so I would highlight those three concerns thank you general thank you very much for all your inputs there a wide broad range of issues on the forefront of minds of our panelists here starting from global power place North Korea South China Sea climate change and also the 4.0 industrialization I would like to just start by opening up to the audience and see if there's any if anyone anyone has a question for our panels here okay I see one what do we start with you are sure can gentleman here in the front just for a quick thank you my name is van Haruki ygl from Cambodia my question it has to the perspective of the all the panelists that we got to the free and open and opacity thank you thank you thank you for their questions now in Asia or in Asia Pacific we are not all we are not having only one initiative that is Indo Pacific or the open and free Indo Pacific we have in this region we have several initial tips for example barrel roll initiative for China indo-pacific initiative not from the u.s. of Japan from India service in Indonesia so this is the all the initiative related to this region our position is that we welcome all initiative if it contributes to the maintenance of peace stability and prosperity in the region and the initiative must be open transparent inclusive so this is our positions on that so not only indo-pacific we have many initiative and those initiative if they respect international law respects their determinations of the nations yes we all work out thank you after that I think it pretty much said in shorter terms what the Deputy Prime Minister said in terms of the indo-pacific the various versions of that depending upon the country but it's critical that the the the fundamental principles of openness inclusivity and transparency is is is what drives all of these initiatives I think the centrality of ASEAN is also a fundamental element and therefore ours new southern policy is certainly designed to work with asan towards a generation of momentum for further growth in this fourth Industrial Revolution age which means really utilizing the possibilities that technology offers us to enhance connectivity within ASEAN to close the development gap within us and and we have a sort of a lead experience in this area in the IT sector our experience in government e-commerce and smart cities and smart factories I think will certainly be something that we can offer to address this challenge within us and of connectivity and development gap so I think all of these initiatives really should focus on the centrality of Asya and and I think if we do so we have a shared grounding where we can then make sure that these initiatives are complementary all right could just add to that I think in my in my view the indo-pacific concept or strategy is a very important analytical tool to help us understand the region a little bit better it underscores the connectivity between the Indian and Pacific Ocean as one strategic operating theater it also underscores the the maritime nature of the region and how in the region security is very much about maritime security so that's its analytical usefulness it also has important practical implications and I think that one of them is to ensure that by having more powers involved in the region it ensures that no one power dominates the region so that's the first point and on the second the second practical implication I think is that it it ensures that well having buy into this strategy also suggests that countries apart from the United States all subscribe to be principals that Minister Kong highlighted earlier the principles of openness inclusivity and transparency and that countries in the region actually care about a rules-based order so I think those are two very significant useful aspects of the Indo Pacific strategy thank you very much dr. Cobb if I may yes please Minister back in 60s and 70s the Japanese economy import oil from Middle East through Indian Ocean and sold automobile to North America through the Pacific Ocean and the seventh Fleet of the United States Navy ensure the freedom of navigation and we believe that freedom of navigation is the key for their global economic development so now what we are trying to do is to connect from Eastern Shore of African continent through Indian Ocean through arson countries through Pacific Ocean to the western coast of North and South American continent in order to do that we need to establish rule-based maritime order and then we need to increase the connectivity through high quality infrastructure meaning that any infrastructure project must be open transparent economical and has to be considerate to their financial soundness of recipient countries and we also need to provide a capacity building for counterterrorism countered by Rossini maritime law enforcement capability so there are other three pillars of our free and open indo-pacific now United States alone cannot ensure the freedom of navigation in the region so as you said it need to be everyone engaged in keeping the sea lines of communication free and open and that's what we are trying to do all right you like to go back to the audience here I'm gonna bundle two questions together a gentleman here and gentleman here please thank you Yoshi hurry up love is Japan I think the biggest concern we have is the rising protection from from the US and I have a question about the the u.s. is leaning towards more bilateral agreements and at the same times we have a TPP and our set going on how could a she be as a one to be to be negotiating against the strong US and to make sure that multilateralism you will stay there thank you and gentlemen here thank you very much my name is Kumar guy and I'm a chief economist of the Tokyo Japan and panel is pointed out many risk factors so we are very do me so I'd like to ask each panelist to point out the biggest hopes in this area and also I'd like to ask to avoid to the worse scenario and to realize the best scenario what should we do and who will be the key key player or key driver the first question well we believe TPP is still the best option for United States I think TPP will go into effect probably by the end of this year and we are going to start expanding it now Indonesia Thailand Taiwan probably South Korea and other Latin American countries plus United Kingdom or interested in joining TPP it will create a large free trade regime based in Pacific Asia Pacific and it will be very attractive for American industries American farmers to join it so we are still hoping the Trump administration or administration after that will be interested in and will be determined to come back to TPP recently we see a lot of high education spreading all over the Asia Asia produce very good human resource in artificial intelligence robotics programming all high tech industry and I think that's the core of the future for Asia and we see more and more human resource is developed in Asia we are actually supplying out of the Asian region to all over the globe so I think that's what's the probably the best scenario we need to continue investing in human resource I think Minister Ono has been provided you know yes there is are these protectionist trends but there is also a huge push to further expand free and fair trade and the TPP initiative is certainly very important man as he said I certainly hope that my country will be able to join sooner rather than later but there is also a lot of discussions going on to upgrade existing free trade agreements whether at the bilateral level or at the at the regional bloc level so it's not all protectionist trends gathering steam there's also a lot of efforts to preserve and further spend the free and fair trade space I think the president jokowi said something very important I think at the planner yesterday which is that the fourth Industrial Revolution provides us with an opportunity of an world where resources are not limited but unlimited resources are not finite aren't but infinite because what the technology of the fourth Industrial Revolution enables us is to utilize you know to develop human resources to an extent that we were never able to do before with the traditional methods of education but also use the material resources that we have in much smarter and efficient ways than we have ever been able to so that hugely opens up the available human as well as material resources that society can use and I think we have a huge potential here in in Southeast Asia to really take grasp of that that possibility that the fourth Industrial Revolution I think somebody said don't call it revolution call it liberal liberation and and that's probably the better framing of the potential that the sufferers of course the pitfall is as all technological breakthroughs pose is that if if not channeled in the right way and this is where governments come in you cannot let these technologies evolve on their own there has to be some regulatory framework to channel that into into ways that benefit the whole of society and and that's good governance that's good public policies and that's that's basically the role of governments but I think you know the we should make sure that these new technological advances do not further exacerbate the development gaps within societies between the poor and the rich between men and women and I think this is where policy thinking comes in yes I concur with ministers corner on the importance of the TPP and now we believe in the multilateral trading system and we support the free trade spirit that's why Vietnam Joe have several bilateral free trade agreement as we estimate the latter of free trade agreement and we believe that the TPP is the very high standard agreement that is the most stable high standard agreement that Vietnam has been parties participated so we believe that if Unitas or the United States joy so we were working and now in the region we also negotiating we are negotiating the asset this is also the multilateral free-trade agreement in the region so this is a position is that we are supported to the free trade agreement on the gentleman's question on how Asia can ensure that multilateral trade system remains in the region and is supported we spoke earlier about the indo-pacific strategy now that's very much a work in progress and at present I think it's economic dimension is weaker than its security dimension in this respect I think the United States lost out an important opportunity to signal commitment to the region economically by withdrawing from the TPP now its current focus is on bilateral trade deals as well as what appears to be private sector-led economic engagement with the region now whether that is sufficient to offer out offer up viable alternatives to China's hugely ambitious belton Road initiative or even to compliment it is an open question so I think Japan did a wonderful job in terms of leading other nations to go move forward with the TPP thereby leaving the door open for the United States and I hope that the United in the United States will reconsider its entry of the TPP but gentlemen over there talked about the greatest hopes for the region now my greatest hope is not to see not only to see a region that is strong and prosperous but also a region that is compassionate and kind to the weakest of its members now we've had the conflict in the Rakhine State fester for years now the most recent manifestations took place two years ago in October 2016 when militant attacks on security outposts in Myanmar led to reprisals which has since led to over five half-a-million people fleeing many of which are children and women now this this crisis has been going on for way too long and over half a million children are without education or with very little education and so what are we going to be as a region going to be doing this has security implications for the region as this problem that's allowed to fester but more than that I think it's just plain wrong that we have people who without access to basic health care education and security I think Bangladesh Bangladesh is trying to do its best what can we as an international community we as the region to to promote and facilitate this crisis we can start small perhaps me I should suggest a school in Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh and the school in Rakhine State which will have twinning programs where you can have exchange of students from the Rinka minority as well as the recline Buddhist majority in the recline states thank you very much Prime Minister Ethan how would you like to chime in I would say we are using the general slang term Asia is putting exact together and we don't got to take responsibility for what happens within ourselves we still haven't defined what exactly are we going to do what is Asia I mean there are different definitions of it you have a specific of asia-pacific you have Indo Pacific so let's let's be quite definitive what's the area of a good combat the prosperity of Asia depends on maritime trade that that we all agreed on and the need for a free and open stable maritime order based on rules-based order so what Sri Lanka is now attempting is to ensure the freedom of navigation within the Indian Ocean the geopolitics of the Indian Ocean itself has changed with the presence of China and the interest owned by some of the other powers so firstly is to ensure that there's a rules-based order in the Indian Ocean where I will build upon dune toss so that that could then take some of the tension that we haven't got the territorial issues that you have in the Pacific as to this for it to succeed ASEAN he has to pay a key Road because the major to all the troop points come within ASEAN and as young is necessary to ensure so if you could at least sort out the maritime order in that part of the world then just look at what's left Oh in the Pacific secondly also in treating indo-pacific as one area I am all for it I think that's a sure but you have to remember the diversity of the Indian Ocean from Pacific so all stakeholders have to be involved this is just a start start of a new economic order which will see Asia at the center by 2050 you could see that I mean the whole take the world itself from Korea all the way down to Australia from Japan all the way down to India you'd find all these large or some of the largest economy is operating in the world and we become the center so how do we the response we then passes on to Asia mm-hm on how we maintain such an order what are the rules that we are going to formulate there was a time when us looked after the Pacific the British looked after the Indian Ocean I was born a subject or George the sixth king of Ceylon in the British Empire then was it on they'll take it I mean we've got so many hands here who like to ask some question we'll get three more from the audience gentlemen here and some on the third and third row yes and also here gentleman with a blue shirt sorry I'm a very fast yes please thank you my name is Kumar KS Kumar of a company called Sutherland I requested for Minister kono Japan has got an aging population and possibly it is the biggest aging population or the car of the world and you'll probably only only about 80 million people by 2040 so you have on the other hand the human capital in the other ASEAN countries in terms of the youth population which is very very high now is there a thinking around if you look look back us for example has got several millions of people supporting their businesses from India and the Philippines so what Japanese you know is there any strategy to leverage the human capital you know especially the knowledge services to support the Japanese businesses by you know investing in culture and language of Japanese and support Japanese business from Philippines or Vietnam or from any of the other countries we scored a high level of human capital with the glasses thank you how many story United Nations my question is also primarily for Minister kono so given that indeed climate change is a very serious issue and it seems that we are falling behind in achieving the goals of the Paris agreement how will Japan lead this agenda I one more question please gentlemen here thank you cheering Lama young global leader it is indeed that we are going to the fourth Industrial Revolution parties are at the revolution I think we need a evolution that understanding the complete ecosystem all the things I want to ask the panel is as it is a great potential but how we are preparing our graduates what our education policies that enabling our graduates to harness the fourth industrial revolutions that for the good for the human human overall human development and also that what are the best examples that we can take it from here from each countries or what is it country is collaborating in order to support each other that we are investing on our future graduates should we start with the first question sure Japan's aging and we've got the very low birthrate as a result we are shrinking by half a million people every year and we cannot sustain society like that well we are opening up our country we are opening up our labor market to foreign countries we are now trying to come up with new work permit policy I think everyone shall be welcome in Japan if they are willing to assimilating to the Japanese society and shoulder Japan with us if you look at US Open tennis we see Naomi Osaka she's a very new breed Japanese if we look at Rio Olympic Games we got Cambridge Oscar who won a silver medal in 400 meter relay Matthew Baker won us a judo gold medal so there are a lot of new breed Japanese and it gives us value-added and I think more and more Japanese opening our eyes it's good to have diversity it's good to have open policy so definitely Japan is moving into that direction and we hope we get a lot of Indian people Filipino you know Latin Americans come to Japan and create new Japan that'll be wonderful things to happen yes we need to do more to stop the climate change to degree is that enough maybe we should aim for 1.5 or even lower I think Japan need to see the reality we just cannot listen to the voice of industries yes industry plays a big role but we have to be in a leadership position in Paris agreement so I think we have to have open discussion and every Japanese meet well I think every Japanese now realize the climate change is one of the biggest challenge for the Japanese community so everyone need to get involved in discussion and we have to really come up with a national strategy what we should do what we can do maybe we need to do more than what we can do now so what do we have to do to the Future Japan cannot give excuse not to challenge I think we need to take leadership challenging maybe 1.5 degrees okay the third question was on the 4.0 and the support for the future generation the Deputy Prime Minister would you like to answer their question since one of your key concerns was on industrial 4.0 and the support for the future generation yes we have seen the opportunities offered by the fourth Industrial Revolution that's for sure but also challenges that can affect the production methods for example the country the economy depends a lot on the labor intensity it will affect the model of production economy then surely it will affect the labor force so we had to rescale the labor force in order to adapt to the new technologies for example the artificial intelligence automatic advanced robotics we take the jobs at the current labor force so we had to risk skill the labor force in that so the young generation will be affected by the revolution so I believe that education will be the main focus for any countries okay I believe we have time for just that one of my point is that I think certainly it's a for governments to to take the possibilities and the challenge of the technology and design education policies to grow people who who are fit for purpose but also while maintaining their humanity along the way but I think governments also have to be careful not to get in the way and I'm thinking of kpop everywhere I go I'm just amazed at the the amount of support and and enthusiasm that the Korean pop culture has created in in so many different countries and this is not because of any government policy it's the creativity and the spontaneity of these young generation who are very agile at utilizing all the technological devices at hand and so the government shouldn't get in their way the government's work is to open new possibilities but certainly to create a regulatory environment that harnesses that creativity and and rather than hinders that creativity it's difficult it's extremely difficult but that's that's the you know that's why you are you're in government thank you very much I think we have time for one more question hopefully this question will be on the new politics you know the South trying to see the Korean Peninsula issue so yes gentlemen over there right next to camera that last question could I address this to Minister Kong and Minister kono and in the spirit of ASEAN centrality may I address you as ASEAN plus three foreign ministers would you give us a sense of the what you perceive to be the trajectory of us-china relations and where does that leave you as treaty allies of the United States thank you just one more from the audience maybe I believe there you go gentlemen right at the back Chris Malone from the Boston Consulting Group based here in Vietnam we all look to academics and experts who underscore that multilateralism is probably the way forward but it seems like bilateralism is the reality that we're living in right now and since we have um Minister Kang and Deputy Prime Minister Pham at the center of the stage it would be interesting to hear about the South Korea Vietnam relationship how that bilateral bilateral relationship has served the region and where it might go next thank you just one minute each for the the answer if we may we were just running out of time so we'll start with the first question please and then move on to South Korea and Vietnam well if I may answer the question on South Korea Vietnamese I the relation I think it's it's by all accounts a mutually beneficial and growing this Vietnam is our largest trade partnership in ASEAN largest destination for our investment and largest destination for our visitors to this region and I think there's like 7,000 or nearly 8,000 Korean businesses finding home here with the full support of the the government here and I think our approach to this relationship is of one towards co-prosperity and so you know fitting our engagement that it serves the purposes of the Vietnamese government and people and I think that I could rest that question there but the us-china relations and if you look at just a trade side it does look very at a moment of particular tension but I think you are these are two big players in the global stage with you know strategic calculations that sometimes diverge but also at times converge and I think on the North Korean nuclear issue they are they have converged and and both working towards a a complete denuclearization and I think there there is a shared strategic interest in getting to North Korea's complete denuclearization and and this is also because they are they are two of the five members of the UN Security Council the p5 permanent members who have the primary responsibility for peace and security issues around the globe so I think you need to expand the context to see the the two two powers engaging with each other at a moment at certainly their moments of tension but I think there are also moments of strategic convergence I couldn't agree more with Minister pankaja on the relationship between Vietnam and South Korea I think that the relation is very excellent South Korea is a number one of the investors in investments in Vietnam and also the biggest one of the biggest trading partners of Vietnam and also we have the Vietnamese big Vietnamese communities in yes South Korea and also Sakura has a very big South Korean community doing business in Vietnam so I think that the relation between Vietnam separates the various thank you so as since we're in a homestretch of our panel discussion I found the question to all the panelists please keep it to one minute if you may given all the developments we've discussed so far to your assessment of the geopolitical outlook in Asia us and we're an optimistic or pessimistic maybe we can start a new prime minister in the medium term I'd be optimistic could see the emergence of Asia we are redefining us as and within it the centrality of hacia how important a thing is going to be the different paths of return is not merely Asia but it's also taking the eastern side of Africa aspects it's a whole stretch way to go on to the western coast of USA and there you could see ASEAN to play role which was not imagined when you started out in the 16th thank you yes we have a con man we have undergone many transformations in the area in the in the region so the past lessons give us that we can overcome the challenges and I'm sure that now the challenges are greater than before but we can be optimistic if the rule base is respected international international relations international law must be respected and sale determinations of the nations be respected so we can be optimistic if those conditions are met that's always a very difficult question for me because the answer is different whether you're talking about today or yesterday or tomorrow or a week later or a month later but I think given the primary foreign policy agenda on my plate at this point which is North Korea's denuclearization and peace in the in the in I think I can be optimistic and I think a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula that is wholly at peace will certainly be a great addition to to the peace dynamics in this region as a whole mr. Khan thank you someone said optimists are always wrong and the pessimists are always right but older big change has been led by the optimist so I want to be optimist and if you look at the geopolitical situation I think we need a strong and workable United Nations United Nations especially the securityq on country council doesn't reflect the reality of today so I think we need to actually reform the United Nations so that you could take care of a little bit more than what they are doing today thank you very much and thanks very much after I'm after foreign minister Connors quote just earlier I can only be optimistic how can I be otherwise but I think optimism must be rooted in reality and I think in order to be optimistic about the region as Deputy Prime Minister min mentioned earlier we need to have a rules-based international order in the region now that doesn't happen because we like the idea of it the sound of it we actually have to work hard to words so what does that mean for the powers like the United States and the countries in the region from the United States I would like to see great calls for the rule of law to be abided by in the region I think it went quiet in the South China Seas tribunal ruling shortly after the ruling because partly because of Manila's reticence but also because of the implications of the award for its own claims to exclusive economic zones in the Pacific it should also stand the international community needs to stand by regional countries when it sees encroachments into their maritime rights or other rights and from ASEAN I think hacia needs to be far more forward-leaning in terms of standing up for a rules-based order it sometimes will hurt but I think that's the price it has to pay in the long run if it wants to see a sustainable peace in the longer term so I hope I will see that for my region thank you alright so on that optimistic note that's the end of the panel discussion thank you very much everyone for being a wonderful audience and can we give our esteemed panel a big round of applause thank you very much

Channel: World Economic Forum

Views: 55,430

Keywords: World Economic Forum, Davos, WEF2018, Davos 2018, politics, finance, economy, news, leadership, democracy, education, 4IR, technology, tech, AI, automation, work, future, ASEAN, ASEAN 2018, Hanoi, Vietnam, Asia

Id: 3rcnFMoZc8M

Length: 55min 23sec (3323 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 13 2018