OPINION

Beef up Australia-Asean friendship

News, Than Tha Aung, Published on 23/05/2018

» Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Tumbull rolled out the red carpet for the leaders of Asean member countries two months ago. The first Australia-Asean Summit to be held "Down Under" ended with a commitment to strengthening cooperation in areas of economic ties, development initiatives and education. Such statements are nothing short of unsurprising between Asean and its dialogue partners. Some would even discount it as a typical talkfest. What was surprising, however, was when Indonesian President Joko Widodo seemed to welcome the possibility of Australia joining the 10-country regional grouping.