ASEAN-Canada relations at forty-five: a mixed scorecard

ABSTRACT

Over recent years, Ottawa had sent signals of a desire to re-engage the Asia-Pacific via stronger ties with Southeast Asia and ASEAN, yet continued to struggle in devising a clear path forward that would help distinguish itself from other “dialogue partners.” This article reviews Canada’ mixed track record in the region, with a focus on its relations with ASEAN. It discusses how this regional organization fits into Ottawa's long-awaited Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) released in November 2022. It argues that Canada cannot succeed in its ambition to be recognized as an “Indo-Pacific” nation without developing, advancing, and implementing a coherent and consistent approach to Southeast Asia, and ASEAN in particular. Further, these efforts should be anchored in a more convincing narrative that ties Canada's contributions to the region together, aligns with regional perspectives, and are reflected in targeted but nonetheless substantial contributions at the intersection of security and development. This paper reviews key moments that have come to define the evolution of Canada-ASEAN relations over the past four decades or so, provides a balance sheet of Canada's successes and shortcomings, and discusses potential next steps and ongoing challenges as it turns to implementing its IPS.

RÉSUMÉ

Ces dernières années, Ottawa a fait part de sa volonté de se réengager dans la région Asie-Pacifique en renforçant ses liens avec l'Asie du Sud-Est et l'ANASE, en continuant cependant de rencontrer des difficultés à définir une voie claire qui lui permettrait de se distinguer des autres « partenaires de dialogue ». Cet article passe en revue le bilan mitigé du Canada dans la région, en mettant l'accent sur ses relations avec l'ANASE. Il examine la place de cette organisation régionale dans la stratégie indopacifique (SIP) tant attendue par Ottawa et publiée en novembre 2022. Il affirme que le Canada ne peut pas réaliser son ambition d'être reconnu comme une nation indopacifique sans développer, faire progresser et mettre en œuvre une approche cohérente et conséquente de l'Asie du Sud-Est, et de l'ANASE en particulier. En outre, ces efforts devraient être inscrits dans un récit plus convaincant qui lie les contributions du Canada à la région, s'allie sur les perspectives régionales et sont reflétées dans des contributions régionales, mais néanmoins substantielles au croisement de la sécurité et du développement. Cet article passe en revue les moments clés qui ont défini l'évolution des relations entre le Canada et l'ANASE au cours des quelques quarante dernières années, dresse un bilan des réussites et des lacunes du Canada, et examine les prochaines étapes potentielles et les défis actuels à l'heure où le pays s'apprête à mettre en œuvre sa stratégie indopacifique.

KEYWORDS:

• ASEAN
• Southeast Asia
• Canada
• foreign policy
• Indo-Pacific
• security
• diplomacy
• multilateralism

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank two anonymous reviewers and Jennifer Mustapha for their constructive comments on earlier drafts, which helped improved the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 ASEAN's dialogue partners include, as of 2022, and in the order of their accession to this status: Australia (1974), New Zealand (1975), Canada, the European Union, the United States, and Japan (1977), South Korea (1991), India (1995), China and Russia (1996), and the United Kingdom (2021).

2 Canada and ASEAN held a first round of negotiations in August 2022, and a second round in November 2022. At the time of writing, a third round was tentatively scheduled for March 2023.

3 AUKUS stands for the Australia, United Kingdom and United States partnership, a trilateral security pact announced in September 2021 that focuses primarily on nuclear-powered submarines acquisitions but also involves cooperation on cyber, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, undersea capabilities, and electronic warfare, among others.

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Stéphanie Martel

Stéphanie Martel is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Studies, Scientific Director of the Centre for International and Defence Policy, and Director of the Network for Strategic Analysis (Réseau d’analyse stratégique). She is also a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada. Her research is on multilateral diplomacy and regional security governance, with a focus on Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific. She is the author of Enacting the Security Community: ASEAN’s Never-Ending Story (2022, Stanford University Press).