from the editors · 2019-12-04 · from the editors dear readers as we know, youth is an important...

FROM THE EDITORSDear readers

As we know, youth is an important section of the population in any country. They are in need of attention as they are both our current and future leaders and the catalyst for economic, social and cultural development. As the Secretary GeneraI of ASEAN (2013-2017), Le Luong Minh stated, “The ASEAN

youth have become more aware and more involved in building and promoting the ASEAN Community, thanks to the efforts of ASEAN Member States to develop them through various interventions at the regional and national levels.” Additionally, the people cantered and people oriented ASEAN has opened the opportunity for young generation to be more involved in the regional integration.

The ASEAN Insights Editorial Team has decided to dedicate this issue for the next generation of Southeast Asia. The first article by Annisa Rahmadani highights the importance of English proficiency in ASEAN to increase the rate of youth employment in Southeast Asia. The second article, by Sandy Nur Ikfal Raharjo explores the debate on subregional cooperation and how it will potentially building blocks in ASEAN. We also got the chance to interview one of the future leaders of ASEAN, Novia Meizura, the former President of the International Relations Student Association of Universitas Indonesia (HMHI FISIP UI).

Enjoy your reading!

Sincerey yours,Aisha R. KusumasomantriManaging Editor

ASEAN Study CenterDepartment of International RelationsFaculty of Social and Political Sciences Universitas IndonesiaNusantara 2 Building, 2nd Floor Depok, West Java - IndonesiaTel/Fax: +62 21 7873744 • email: [email protected]://asc.fisip.ui.ac.id/?page_id=57

asean insights

asean insights is a monthly newsletter which aims to provide important insights on ASEAN issues. The news-letter is published by ASEAN Study Center, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Indonesia, with the support from the Mission of the Republic of Korea to ASEAN. The content of asean insights does not re-flect the official opinion of the Mission of the Republic of Korea to ASEAN.

Mission of theRepublic of Korea to ASEAN

BOARD OF EDITORSEdy Prasetyono

Evi Fitriani Hariyadi Wirawan

Shofwan Al Banna Choiruzzad

MANAGING EDITORAisha R. Kusumasomantri

FINANCIAL MANAGERYuni R. Intarti

LAYOUT & DESIGNIvan Sanjaya

SUPPORTING TEAMAkbar Renaldy

Octavianti Shanna Puspita

CONTENTS

01ASEAN Updates

04Opinion

Subregional Cooperation in Southeast Asia: Building Block for ASEAN Connectivity? | By Sandy Nur Ikfal

06Opinion

Vocational School Graduates and Unemployment: The Importance of English Proficiency in ASEAN| By Annisa Rahmadani

03Mini Article

ASEAN to enhance gender equality and empower-ment in mine action

10Korean Mission Updates

02SpotlightThe 15th Principals Meeting of the South East Asia Parties against CorruptionThe 8th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Science, Technology and InnovationThe 19th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry Plus Three

08What They Sayabout ASEAN?

Novia Meizura the former President of the International Relations Student Association of Universitas Indonesia (HMHI FISIP UI)

12Profile

Mission of the Republic of Korea to ASEANASEAN Study Center

OCTOBER

1vol.2 no.8 October 2019 • asean insights

asean updates

2019

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia40th ASEAN Air Transport Working Group (ATWG) Mee�ng

1-4Oct

4-13Oct

Busan,Republic of KoreaASEAN Film Showcase at Busan Interna�onal Film Fes�val 2019

3Oct

ASEAN Secretariat59th Mee�ng of the Ini�a�ve for

ASEAN Integra�on (IAI) Task

7-9Oct

Siem Reap, Cambodia● 15th Mee�ng of Commi�ee under

COP to AATHP (COM-15) ● 15th Mee�ng of Conference of

the Par�es to AATHP (COP-15) ● 15th ASEAN Ministerial Mee�ng

on Environment (AMME) ● 15th ASEAN Plus

Philippines● 9th ASEAN Senior Officials Mee�ngon Sports (SOMS-8) ● 2nd ASEAN Plus Japan Senior Officials Mee�ng on Sports (2nd SOMS+Japan) ● 1st ASEAN Plus Japan Senior Officials Mee�ng on Women and Sports(1st ASEAN+Japan for Woman and Sports) ● 5th ASEAN Ministerial Mee�ng on Sports(5th AMMS) ● 2nd ASEAN Ministerial Mee�ng on Sports (2nd AMMS+Japan)

8-11Oct

10Oct

Jakarta, Indonesia16th ASEAN-IPR GC

14-17Oct

Langkawi, Malaysia24th ASEAN Experts Group on Compe��on (AEGC) and Related Mee�ngs

15-17Oct

Bali, Indonesia16th ASEAN Food Conference

(AFC-16) 2019

21-25Oct

Vientiane, Lao PDR● 19th TELMIN

● 20th TELSOM and Related Mee�ngs with Dialogue

Partners and ITU

Bandar Seri Begawan,Brunei Darussalam32nd Working Group on Legal Metrology (WG 3) and Its Related Mee�ngs

15-17Oct

15-17Oct

Bandar Seri Begawan,Brunei Darussalam

38th ASEAN Transport Facilita�on Working Group

(TFWG) and 10th ASEAN Transit Transport Coordina�ng Board

(TTCB) Mee�ngs

21-23Oct

Bangkok, ThailandASEAN Regional Workshop for Policy Recommenda-�ons on Au�sm

Thailand25th Customs Capacity Building Working Group (CCBWG)

22-24Oct

29-31Oct

Cambodia27th Mee�ng of Customs Procedu-res and Trade Facilita�on Working

Group (CPTFWG)

Spotlight

2 asean insights • vol.2 no.8 October 2019

From 8-10 October 2019, the National Anti-Corruption Commission of Thailand (NACC)

hosted the 15th South East Asian Parties against Corruption (SEA-PAC) Principals Meeting in Bangkok. The meeting acted as a platform of information and experience exchange on regional anti-corruption efforts, as well as enhancement of the effectiveness of ASEAN anti-corruption agencies. It was highlighted that the regional economic integration presents ASEAN countries with potential to nurture growth in investment and trade along with cross-border travel of people and capital, yet also brings a danger of higher susceptibility to transnational crimes including

corruption and bribery.There were also two MoU signings between the NACC and the State Inspection and Anti-Corruption Authority (SIAA) of Lao PDR, and the NACC with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) of the Republic of Indonesia. Both MoUs cover the issue of inter-agency cooperation, sharing of experience and information, and coordination of corruption cases. In addition to presentation of anti-corruption implementation progress from all ten SEA-PAC delegations, the meeting also adopted SEA-PAC Action Plan for 2020-2022.

The 18th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Science, Technology and Innovation (AMMSTI-18), along with

the 77th ASEAN Committee on Science, Technology, and Innovation (COSTI-77) was hosted by Singapore from 6-11 October 2019. During the meeting, ASEAN Member States discussed challenges and the possibility of strengthening collaboration in Science, Technology and Innovation. Projects under the ASEAN Diagnostics Development (DxD) Initiative were officially launched and an ASEAN High Performance Computing (HPC) Workplan was endorsed. These projects will support the commitment by AMS to strengthen the medical diagnostics ecosystem in Southeast Asia and grow capabilities in high-performance computing. The meetings were organised by Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

In Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, the 19th Meet-ing of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry

plus Three (19th AMAF+3) was held on 16 October, 2019. The meeting was chaired by H.E. Dato Ali Apong, Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism, Brunei Darussalam. During the meeting, several progresses on collaborative actions among participating states were discussed, such as the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Strategy (APTCS) 2016-2025, ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Agreement, and ASEAN Plus Three Food Security Informa-tion System (AFSIS). ASEAN ministers also thanked China, Japan and South Korea for their support in the area. It was expected that the Declaration on Forest Cooperation for Peace and Prosperity will be adopted at the ASEAN-ROK High Level Meeting, which also marks a milestone during the 30th year of ASEAN-ROK bilateral relations.

The 8th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Science, Technology and Innovation

The 19th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry Plus Three

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Mini Article


ASEAN to enhance gender equality and empowerment in mine actionVIENTIANE, 22 October 2019 – The

Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) alongside the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center (ARMAC) and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) held a regional workshop on “Gender Equality and Empowerment in ASEAN Mine/Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) Action” in Vientiane on 21-22 October.With funding support from the Government of Canada through the Mission of Canada to ASEAN and the Clearing for Results Project Cambodia, the two-day workshop gathered ten ASEAN Member States (AMS), including those affected and not affected by landmines, unexploded ordinance or ERW, to share methods on how to include gender approaches and perspectives into their national mine/ERW action activities.At the workshop, the participants analysed their work in mine/ERW action through a gender and diversity lens, assessing how mine/ERW action projects and programmes are implemented to ensure that the priorities and capabilities of women, girls, boys, men and diverse groups are highlighted, and their needs are met.Leading a component of the workshop, the GICHD emphasised that with increased gender and diversity awareness and knowledge acquired through information-sharing events and other outreach activities, mine/ERW action operators will hopefully have the capacity and the will to effectively mainstream gender and diversity into their planning and activities.

In addition to building AMS’ capacity on gender mainstreaming in mine/ERW action, the workshop also provided a platform for AMS to share their experiences, best practices and lessons learnt on integrating gender into their work.Speaking at the event, Technical Officer for Mine Action at ARMAC Dwi Premeswari, reiterated that “the regional workshop provided an opportunity to bring greater attention to the importance of gender and diversity aspects in mine/ERW action and other relevant programmes. By considering the inclusiveness of gender, the community will benefit from greater impacts and increased sustainability in future programmes.” She added, ‘it is encouraging to see both men and women from the ASEAN Member States share their knowledge, expertise and experience, and learn from each other on how to optimise gender mainstreaming in mine/ERW action.”Funding the workshop through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives for the second time, the Mission of Canada to ASEAN emphasised Canada’s commitment to develop and implementgender-responsive approach towards mine action, as it is aligned with Canada’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security for the period 2017-2022. Canada supports mine action as part of its international development assistance and remains firmly committed to advancing the goals of the Ottawa Convention (Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention) and to achieving a world free of landmines by 2025.

Original Article was published in the ASEAN Website

photo/asean.org

Opinion


Subregional Cooperationin Southeast Asia:Building Blockfor ASEAN Connectivity?ASEAN has established itself as a community since

the end of 2015 and has determined its vision towards a rules-based, people-oriented, people-centered Community by 2025. In order to achieve this vision, connectivity becomes a strategic element to be realized. ASEAN then has set the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity adopted in 2010, followed by the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 adopted in 2016, as a guide to develop physical, institutional, and people-to-people connectivity.However, the development of connectivity in ASEAN still faces several obstacles. First, it should deal with the difference in the geographical character of each member country. Some countries such as Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and West Malaysia are located on the mainland of Southeast Asia, while Singapore, Indonesia, East Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and the Philippines are separated from the mainland by sea. Second, it should manage the difference in the level of progress of the supporting infrastructure of connectivity among member countries, making it challenging to integrate the region. Third, it should tackle the limited capacity of each member country and ASEAN organizations in providing connectivity to support facilities.One alternative way to overcome the obstacles above is through the use of subregional cooperation initiatives to support the realization of ASEAN connectivity. This cooperation has a narrower scope, a closer geographical location, and fewer countries, so that implementation is expected to be more focused and effective. In the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity, it is stated that “Subregional arrangements ... also play a significant role in enhancing regional connectivity. Synergies between ASEAN and these subregional arrangements should be encouraged for further enhancement of regional connectivity and global flows”. There are at least three subregional initiatives that support connectivity development in Southeast Asia, namely the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT), and Brunei Darussalam - Indonesia - Malaysia - Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

Greater Mekong SubregionGMS has obtained several achievements that support ASEAN connectivity. First is the development of economic corridors that connect the territory of its member

countries. There are at least three economic corridors already in operation: 1) East-West Economic Corridor which connects Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar which is the only land route connecting the South China Sea and the Andaman Sea in the Indian Ocean; 2) North-South Economic Corridor that connects southern China, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand in one lane; and 3) The Southern Economic Corridor which connects three Southeast Asian strategic cities namely Bangkok, Phnom Penh, and Ho Chi Minh City. In addition to hard infrastructure development, GMS also built institutional connectivity through the implementation of a Cross Border Transport Agreement (CBTA) that facilitates cross-border activities in a one-door system, thus simplifying procedures and shortening the time of entry/exit process. Moreover, the management of GMS activity agendas is supported by the GMS Secretariat operated by ADB. In people-to-people connectivity, it has built the GMS University Consortium and held the Annual Mekong Mini Movie Festival, which further strengthens socio-cultural relations among communities of the member countries.Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth TriangleThis subregional cooperation was established in 1993, promoting private sector-based economic growth and emphasizing the complementary and comparative advantages of its member countries. This cooperation includes ten provinces of Indonesia, eight states of Malaysia, and 14 provinces of Thailand with a population of around 70 million people. In physical connectivity, the IMT-GT has established five economic / connectivity corridors, namely 1) the Songkhla-Penang-Medan Corridor, 2) the Malacca Strait Corridor (from Trang in southern Thailand to Melaka in Peninsular Malaysia), 3) the Banda Aceh-Medan-Pekanbaru-Palembang Economic Corridor, 4) the Melaka-Dumai Economic Corridor, and 5) the Ranong-Phuket-Aceh Economic Corridor. Unfortunately, the connectivity which has been operated is still heavier on the land dimension. In institutional connectivity, IMT-GT has a plan on building Special Border Economic Zone (SBEZ) between the southern Thai border region and northern Malaysia, but as acknowledged by one official in Malaysia, the construction of the SBEZ is still constrained by differences in domestic regulations. In the institutional structure's aspect, IMT-GT has the Center for IMT-GT (CIMT) as a secretariat that is relatively more independent than the GMS secretariat,


where its operations rely on member state contributions. Unfortunately, CIMT does not have a strong coordination relationship with the ASEAN Secretariat. In addition, the IMT-GT also has a special forum to accommodate private sector participation, namely the Joint Business Council (JBC). In people-to-people connectivity, it already has IMT-GT University Network (UNINET) involving eight universities from Indonesia, three universities from Malaysia, and two universities from Thailand. Also, people-to-people connectivity was built through cruise line tourism cooperation exploring Phuket in Thailand, Langkawi in Malaysia, and Sabang in Indonesia.

Brunei Darussalam – Indonesia – Malaysia – Philippines East ASEAN Growth AreaThis initiative was launched in 1994 to minimize the development gap between the BIMP Subregion and the western part of ASEAN. In physical connectivity, BIMP-EAGA develops the West Borneo Economic Corridor and the Sulu-Sulawesi Economic Corridor as priority programs, complemented with the East Borneo Economic Corridor. BIMP-EAGA builds cross-border bus lines from Pontianak in Indonesia, Kuching in Malaysia, until Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei. Air transportation services are also opened and operated by Xpress Air, Royal Brunei, MasWings, and AirAsia airlines. Sea transportation was also built, serving the Nunukan-Tawau and Tarakan-Tawau routes. BIMP-EAGA also opened the Davao-Bitung Ro-Ro Ferry line for goods but is currently suspended. For institutional connectivity, BIMP-EAGA has the Memorandum of Understanding on Cross-border Movement of Commercial Buses and Coaches 2007 and on Transit and Inter-State Transport of Goods 2009. In people-to-people connectivity, the presence of Indonesian diaspora in the Southern Philippines (around 35,000 people) proves the strength of inter-community relations that have been initiated since before subregional cooperation was formalized. Cross-border activities are quite intensive in the form of family visits, cross-border trade, medical visits, and activities related to education.

Supporting and Inhibiting FactorsVarious physical, institutional, and people-to-people connectivity development programs above show that GMS, IMT-GT, and BIMP-EAGA have been playing roles as building blocks for ASEAN. This is inseparable from

several supporting factors. First, they focus on the economic dimension. Different conditions occur with other subregional cooperation such as the Mekong River Commission (MRC), which is still concerned with differences in interest in the Mekong River water resources although all MRC member countries are also members of the GMS. Second, they involve international financial institutions, especially the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the GMS, which is a financial source and provider of technical assistance. Third, political will is strong enough from each of the central government’s member countries to develop subregional cooperation jointly. Fourth, the structure of meetings in subregional cooperation has been made hierarchically, starting from the working group level to the summit level that has been carried out periodically.

However, the above subregional initiatives were also criticized for the slow pace of their progress, compared to their age. Several factors are alleged to be inhibiting factors. First, the programs that have been agreed to run are too many, so that the implementation becomes less focused. Second, differences in domestic regulations in each country make it difficult for programs to be operationalized. Third, there is less strong coordination at three levels, namely between the subregional cooperation secretariat and the ASEAN secretariat, among ministries/institutions at the central government level, which are responsible for working groups, as well as between the central and local governments involved in the cooperation. Fourth, the involvement of the private sector is still weak in terms of investment, so the projects still depend on government funds (IMT-GT and BIMP-EAGA) or loans and grants from ADB (GMS).

Reflecting on those supporting and inhibiting factors, deeper synergies between subregional cooperation and ASEAN must be intensified, especially in coordinating intersecting programs. It is also necessary to encourage more active involvement of private parties through the provision of profitable project designs, as well as to explore initiatives and participation of local communities. With these steps, it is hoped that an enhanced connectivity-based ASEAN Community could be accelerated.

AuthorSandy Nur Ikfal RaharjoResearcher at the Research Center for Politics, Indonesian Institute of Sciences. His studies focus on border issues in Southeast Asia.

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Opinion


Vocational School Graduates and

Unemployment: The Importance of

English Proficiency in ASEAN

As one of the most developed countries in ASEAN, the urgency of establishing

a sustainable future for the population has gradually become the biggest responsibility of the Indonesian government over the past decade. Hence, the government has put in place some strategies to help improve the quality of life of Indonesian citizens, for example, by establishing some eminent plans to enhance the quality of human resources in Indonesia. One of the projects that are still growing up to this day is creating higher-skilled workers by bolstering the quality of the vocational education system in Indonesia.

Joko Widodo, the 7th president of the Republic of Indonesia, in his interview with Kompas in 2017, indisputably highlighted the prominence of work readiness amongst the vocational high school graduates in the future global market

throughout South East Asia. Due to the AEC (ASEAN Economy Community) blueprint of 2025 that focuses on the high integration of Economy in Southeast Asian countries, vocational high school graduates have become the main highlight of his statement since they are aimed at being ready-to-work laborers with a set of particular skills. In accordance with this, Indonesian Law No.20 of 2003 also mentioned that the purpose of vocational high school is to teach students specific skills that are needed to work more productively.

Expectation meets RealityDespite the fact that the demand for vocational education graduates has escalated in the past few years in the community and workplaces area, it appears that most vocational school graduates in Indonesia still do not meet these expectations. In fact, recent data released by the

AuthorAnnisa Rahmadani

Lecturer at the English Literature DepartmentUniversitas Pendidikan Indonesia

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Indonesian National Statistics Agency (BPS) in August 2017 announced that vocational school graduates are the group with the highest rate of unemployment, followed by diploma graduates and university graduates in the “open unemployment” category amongst educational institutions. The statistic show that 11.41% of vocational graduates are without jobs after finishing their studies. This is ironic since the vocational school students are expected to have high participation in labor-areas due to the practical skills they possess.

Nevertheless, there is a high percentage of unemployed vocational high school graduates who raise the question of why they became unemployed if they possess more practical skills than general high school graduates. Sadly, many recent related studies show that this trend still takes place even under conditions where there are higher numbers of formal jobs available for vocational high school graduates than for general high school graduates.

The Lack of Soft SkillsA lowered capacity for industries and companies with more graduates from vocational high schools when trying to gain access to the market industry is believed to be the initial problem of the rising unemployment for vocational high school graduates in the business market. Another crucial issue currently being faced is that vocational high school graduates tend to have a limited set of soft skill qualifications, such as being capable of mastering a foreign language, most important of which is English. English is viewed as a considerable skill to learn, primarily for those who seek to gain access to further education and the future. Furthermore, English is exteremely needed and used in wide-ranging fields such as business and education. Despite this, English comprehension is still considered a huge issue amongst both current vocational school students and graduates alike. Most researchers tend to determine that vocational high school students have mediocre English competency both in academic and non-academic areas.

ConclusionTherefore, to address this problem, the Indonesian Ministry of Education decided to put the foreign language study as one of the compulsory subjects in school-leaving examinations in order to accentuate the use of foreign language proficiency in this country. In addition, the gradual change of the curriculum is also considered as one of the solutions to fix the lack of English proficiency in Indonesia. However, even the government has assured that the new curriculum was designed to suit the students’

needs, and after looking through the syllabus, material, and assessments made for vocational high school, it is easy to make a personal assumption that the curriculum for the English subject does not provide the students with a mastery of practical English or an adequate skill set in the language. Also, the limited time allocated to study English at school generates restraints for both teachers and students in giving and accepting the knowledge. Hence, the teacher and students struggle to fit their goals and need to achieve satisfying English competency. Furthermore, the fact that not every school has a language laboratory equipped with extensive facilities to learn English has created another obstacle for vocational school students to get a better experience in learning English. Thus, the poor result of academic and practical English cannot be avoided.

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Hi, Nome! As 2020 is approaching, we would like to know more about your work and

the role of youth in ASEAN. As the President of the Student Body of the International Relations Department, how do you describe the role of your organization in promoting the ASEAN?During my presidency in 2018, the International Relations Student Association of Universitas Indonesia (HMHI FISIP UI) has viewed the ASEAN community as a central academic issue that we wanted to promote. In order to realize that goal, our annual academic journal called Indonesia Foreign Policy Review (IFPR) carried “ASEAN Vision 2025: Towards People-Oriented Community” as our main theme that year. Aside from publishing academic essays specifically on the topic of ASEAN in the form of printed journals, our organization also extended its commitment to reach a bigger scale of audience by permitting public access to our journal online. We sincerely hope that our small contribution in the academic sphere can play a role in raising more awareness among students all across Indonesia regarding the ASEAN community.

In your opinion as the future generation of Southeast Asia, what is the main contribution of youth toward ASEAN?

As a large segment of the population in this region, I believe that youth mainly contributes to the following two processes: 1) the process of ASEAN community and identity building, and 2) the process of policy planning. First, through participation in regional-scale programs such as volunteering activities, ASEAN youths have helped realizing the idea of the ASEAN community and fostered the establishment of mutual understanding and a stronger common identity among them. Second, by actively taking part in various youth forums and dialogue, ASEAN youths can voice out their interests and aspirations that could potentially influence the policy planning process concerning youth.

WhatThey

Sayabout

ASEAN?


What are the challenges faced by youth in contributing and participating in ASEAN programs?In my opinion, what have become hindrances for youth, especially in Indonesia, to participate in ASEAN programs are uneven information distribution regarding such programs and language & education barrier. Indonesian youths who are privileged enough to live in major cities and enroll in higher education institutions may have easier access to information on ASEAN programs and opportunities. However, information may not be distributed evenly to those who live in smaller villages. While it is true that ASEAN currently has many programs focusing on youth development, most of them are designed limited to those who are able to communicate in English and/or are enrolled in a university.In what way do you think ASEAN engagement towards youth can be improved in the future?I believe the idea of “No youth should be left behind.” that has been voiced and promoted by the ASEAN Youth Forum should be deeply considered when it comes to improving ASEAN engagement towards youth. One way to do that is through the creation of more inclusive youth programs that transcend geographical and linguistic barriers. I appreciate the establishment of the ASEAN Youth Development

Index (YDI) as a good starting point in evaluating the effectiveness of youth programs delivered in the region. Nevertheless, I see the possibility of improvement in the index to include more indicators related to individual youth well-being (e.g., education quality, standard of living) so that the future youth programs could make bigger impact towards the development of ASEAN youths.How do you see ASEAN in ten years?In the next ten years, I think ASEAN would be so much more integrated as an economic, political-security, and socio-cultural community. It is reflected in the ambitious vision portrayed in ASEAN Community Vision 2025, in which all of the three pillars are stepping up the game of integration to create ‘one vision, one identity, and one community’ ASEAN. What I believe would remain the same is the ability of ASEAN to maintain its ASEAN Centrality. In my opinion, it will continue to be the bridge of major economic powers in Asia-Pacific and the central actor in the evolution of its regional architecture. However, around 2030, it is predicted that ASEAN would face an increase in its dependency ratio due to the aging population. This demographic change in the region, I believe, would require ASEAN to make maneuver in its education system in order to maintain the productivity of its workforce.

The following questions are directed to

Novia Meizurathe former President of the International Relations StudentAssociation of Universitas Indonesia (HMHI FISIP UI) and currently serves as a Research Assistant at the Center for International Relations Studies, Universitas Indonesia.

Korean MissionUpdates


JFCC Speaker EventAmbassador Lim Sungnam gave a lecture at the

Speaker Event of Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club on 24 October at the Mercantile Club in Jakarta.Attended by journalists and diplomatic corps, Ambassador Lim explained the ASEAN-Korea relations over the past 30 years, the New Southern Policy

unveiled by President Moon Jae-in back in November 2017, and the 2019 ASEAN-Korea Commemorative Summit to be held on 25-26 November in Busan.Followed by Q&A session, journalists and other participants asked questions regarding the New Southern Policy, Korea's perspective on ASEAN Indo-Pacific Outlook and expected the outcome of the 2019 ASEAN-Korea Commemorative Summit.

Ambassador Lim Sungnam, President Chang Soon-Heung of Handong Glob-

al University and President Kang JungAi of Sookmyung Women's University signed the Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) on Supporting ASEAN's sustainable develop-ment and the capacity building.

The signed MoU indicates the roles of the three institutions for ASEAN's tertiary edu-cation development and capacity building programme for ASEAN youth and women.

Ambassador Lim reiterated that the Mission would act proactively to explore ways for-ward for developing capacity building pro-gramme benefitting ASEAN as a whole in cooperation with Handong Global University and Sookmyung Women's University.

MoU on ASEAN's sustainable development and capacity building


Ambassador Lim Sungnam attended CPR+3(ASEAN Plus Three Ambassadors in

Jakarta) Meeting on 7 October. At the meeting, Ambassadors from ASEAN and Plus Three coun-tries (Korea, China and Japan) discussed the negotiation process of the outcome document entitled 'ASEAN Plus Three Leaders' Statement on Connecting the Connectivities Initiative.' The ASEAN Plus Three Leaders will adopt the state-ment at the APT Summit scheduled on 4 Novem-

ber in Bangkok.The meeting also discussed the APT Official Web-site preparation and regional and internation-al issues. In addition, Ambassadors exchanged views and reviewed the implementation process regarding APT Cooperation Work Plan 2018-2022 as well as the projects funded by the APT Cooperation Fund.

The 11th CPR+3 Meeting

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asean insights welcomes opinion piece and publication review from creative and talented international scholars and professionals. There will be incentive and interesting souvenirs for authors.

asean insights

The ASEAN Study Center Universitas Indonesia (ASC UI) is devoted to research and discussion on issues that pertain to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as an institution and a process. The Centre aims to provide inputs to ASEAN member states and ASEAN bodies on issues and events that call for collective ASEAN actions and responses, especially those pertinent to building the ASEAN Community. The ASC UI seeks to illuminate ways of promoting ASEAN’s purposes of political solidarity, economic integration and regional cooperation, and finding pragmatic solutions to the challenges on the path to achieving this.

Department of International RelationsFaculty of Social and Political Sciences

Universitas IndonesiaNusantara II Building, 2nd Floor Depok,

West Java - Indonesia 16424Tel/Fax: +62 21 7873744

email: [email protected]://asc.fisip.ui.ac.id/?page_id=57

Mission of the Republic of Korea to ASEANSentral Senayan II, 23F. JL. Asia Afrika No.8,

Gelora Bung Karno Jakarta - Indonesia 10270 Tel : +62 21 5795 1830

http://overseas.mofa.go.kr/asean-en/index.do

Mission of the Republic of Koreato ASEAN

In 2012, the Korean Government established the Mission of the Republic of Korea (ROK) to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta, where the ASEAN Secretariat is located. As a dialogue partner, the Korean Government is fully committed to bolstering its contributions to the integration process of ASEAN. The Mission of the Republic of Korea to ASEAN will strive to further strengthen and deepen the multifaceted development cooperation between Korea and ASEAN in all possible fields, including politics, economy, society and culture.

from the editors · 2019-12-04 · from the editors dear readers as we know, youth is an important...

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