ASEAN must be a competitive single market: PM Wong

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a combined market of 700 million people, must become a more seamless and competitive single market, one that attracts businesses and investments looking for alternatives in a more fragmented global economy, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Saturday.
To get there, bolder reforms are needed, said Wong in a video message posted on YouTube, adding that the association’s 10 members may be limited in scale individually but together have considerable weight, The Straits Times reported.
ASEAN today has 700 million people, and it forms the fifth-largest economy in the world and is projected to be the fourth largest by 2030. ASEAN countries comprise Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, and Vietnam.
The next decade will be critical to unlocking ASEAN’s full potential, said Wong, who has just finished his introductory visits to ASEAN capitals, with the exception of Myanmar, which he said he hopes to visit “when the situation is more conducive”.
“Continued peace, stability and growth in ASEAN will transform our entire region – and this will translate to better jobs, opportunities and living standards for all our peoples,” The Straits Times quoted Wong as saying.
The key to achieving this lies in closer integration among ASEAN economies, he said, noting that supply chains across the bloc already span multiple countries, leveraging their complementary strengths.
Wong gave the example of cotton from the Philippines.
This could be spun in Thai factories, dyed and sewn in Vietnam and exported to the world. “This is the kind of cooperation we must strengthen,” he said.
To become a more seamless and competitive single market, ASEAN needs to reduce trade and investment barriers and make it easier for companies to operate across borders, the Prime Minister said.
It also means negotiating a digital economy agreement across the bloc and linking payment systems as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have done, he said.
Physical infrastructure including rail and power grid connections must also be enhanced, and Asean must also deepen its partnership with the rest of the world, Wong said.
It already has seven free trade agreements with external partners, including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership – the world’s largest trading bloc, (including India), he noted.
These existing agreements will be upgraded, and the ASEAN chair in 2025 – has been pushing for these reforms, and Singapore fully supports these efforts. India has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the ASEAN grouping.
Wong said, “The momentum will continue with the Philippines as chair next year, and when Singapore takes over as chair in 2027 – a milestone year marking ASEAN’s 60th anniversary”.
ASEAN observers note that the regional grouping sits in the midst of US-China rivalries while trying to maintain market networks across the global, especially the consumer-driven Indian economy, the cash-and-oil-rich Gulf states, and managing the sensitivity of ongoing conflict between Israel, Gaza-Hamas and Iran.