ASEAN-Australia: Small steps at the big summit
Today is “bilat day” (short for bilateral) for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne. Call it diplomatic speed-dating, with lots of quick meetings in succession: shake hands, sit down, formalities, talking points, some frank discussion, stand up, shake hands.
Albanese started the day with ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn, the first time the two had met formally. Then on to Singapore’s Lee Hsien Loong with gathered officials followed by a joint press conference. Late in the morning, Thailand’s Srettha Thavisin. Timor-Leste’s Xanana Gusmão in the afternoon, followed by the leaders of Brunei, Cambodia and Indonesia.
In between it all, a lunch with CEOs doing business in Southeast Asia.
At some point, Albanese will host a private dinner for the ASEAN leaders (minus Myanmar, plus Timor-Leste and New Zealand). Tomorrow he chairs the collective formalities.
Intense. Exhausting. The personal demands that these summits put upon leaders is often obscured by the big story that dominates the media for the day. Dollars announced, for instance, such as Albanese’s pledge today for a $2 billion Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility, a move that follows a call last month from Lowy Institute’s Michelle Lyons, Roland Rajah and Grace Stanhope for Australia to “go big or go home” in assisting the region’s energy transition.
Yet it’s easy to forget that the leaders are themselves people, and that people can struggle under the weight of work. Sitting down with Albanese on Tuesday, Singapore’s Lee apologised for missing previous talks after contracting Covid. A body battery can go flat. And this is peacetime. Imagine the pressure on leaders and their decision-making in a crisis. Or, in the case of New Zealand’s PM, frustration when his government plane breaks down on heading to Melbourne.
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