Mr. Louie Dane C. Merced identifies some lessons from ASEAN that South Korea could learn from as it promotes a new initiative for multilateralism in Northeast Asia.

Mr. Louie Dane C. Merced, Foreign Affairs Research Specialist with the Center for International Relations and Strategic Studies (CIRSS) of the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), participated in the 8th ASEAN-Korea Forum held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 28-29 July 2015.

The Track 1.5 meeting was co-organized by the Korea Foundation and the Institute for Strategic and International Studies (ISIS)-Malaysia as a platform for the exchange of views and ideas between the policy research and think tank communities of ASEAN and South Korea on issues affecting the Korean Peninsula and the broader East Asian region.

Mr. Merced presented “Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative (NAPCI): Lessons from East Asian Multilateralism,” where he emphasized that despite the differences in circumstances between Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, South Korea (the proponent of NAPCI) can learn from ASEAN’s experience in community-building. He discussed four factors that contributed to ASEAN’s relative success in promoting multilateralism in Southeast Asia, namely, neutrality, shared vision and objectives, the role of norms and principles, and political leadership.

The delegates to the 8th ASEAN-Korea Forum
The delegates to the 8th ASEAN-Korea Forum
The 8th ASEAN-Korea Forum gathered analysts and experts from different think tanks and research institutions in ASEAN and South Korea.
The 8th ASEAN-Korea Forum gathered analysts and experts from different think tanks and research institutions in ASEAN and South Korea.

 

*Photo credits: Korea Foundation