Having achieved its member status in the EU on 1 July 2013, Croatia became the EU’s latest addition.
Between 2014 and 2020, Croatia received an estimated 8.6bn euros from the EU’s Cohesion Policy. Much of that was translated into improvements to public infrastructure that supported its national development.
The improved water and sewage system for the Slavonski Brod better secured Croatia’s water security. This success story should be acknowledged considering Croatia’s past, when it had been plagued with nationwide flooding for years.
Supporting Croatia through its national challenges did not only help with integration, it promoted a stronger regional consciousness across EU member states on the need to address environmental security.
Calling for cohesion inspires multilateralism. Connecting alliances around a common purpose is one way to confront the challenges of the day with a united front. It is precisely this role – that of the advocate – which I believe Asean is best suited to play at the East Asian Summit in 2025.
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Asean will see the addition of its newest member, Timor-Leste, this year and all member states will have to work strategically with each other towards meaningful and comprehensive integration.
This is best achieved, as was the case between the EU and Croatia, by first identifying areas where material support for Timor- Leste is needed. When this support is provided, it can better drive Asean’s collective aspirations.
Among the many emerging goals of Asean that have gained increased prominence is the topic of energy security.
At the recent Ministerial Interface Meeting held on 14 August 14, the ministers from various Asean countries discussed ways in which the development of the Asean Power Grid can be accelerated. Among the many outcomes of the meeting, officials announced that the project would receive funding from institutions such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.
The significance of this must not be understated when one considers that Asean has long envisioned a future in which the bloc benefits from sustainable and interdependent energy systems.
In Asean’s Interconnection Masterplan Study emphasises the numerous ways the grouping has attempted to scale the right infrastructure to support power interconnection and regional energy connectivity through the proposed Asean Power Grid.
For this to truly operate cohesively, Asean must account for the challenges ahead that will complicate progress – particularly considering the recent news which confirmed Timor Leste’s membership of Asean.
Timor-Leste requires systematic and comprehensive assistance that addresses the country’s poor energy infrastructure, weakened after decades of conflict.
The country is over-reliant on imported fossil fuels, and suffers from inadequate energy reserves and poor public access to energy. It is among those countries that have dangerously low levels of energy consumption per capita.
Its economic woes have also caused the country to stagnate in its bid to move towards renewable energy adoption due to the high cost of energy transition.
Looking ahead, it is incumbent on Asean, when strategising the future of its energy security ambitions, to develop ways to help Timor Leste play a more concrete role in energy transition. It can do this by equipping its newest member with more resources to redirect the trajectory of its domestic energy policies.
Achieving this can additionally help with integration efforts and promote cohesion across the board. As was the case with the EU and Croatia, Asean as part of its focus on energy security should leverage efforts put into this in a way that also involves Timor Leste from the onset. In this way, it will be able to achieve its vision both holistically and efficiently.
Asean could take the East Asia Summit as an opportunity to promote multilateral cooperation and mobilise partnerships that help to provide developmental aid to Timor-Leste’s offshore renewable energy infrastructure.
The country has shown steady commitment to achieve this, starting with national programmes that build renewable energy infrastructure as part of the Timor-Leste Strategic Development Plan 2011-30. These initiatives need significant funding to bring them to fruition.
The Asean–Japan integration fund has supported multiple projects, including disaster management and economic integration, that were shown to be successful.
Involving Timor-Leste in the discussion at the summit is just one way Asean can tap into new partnership schemes that can help fund a Timor-Leste that can, in future, carry the weight of regional energy security.
Pravin Periasamy is the networking and partnership director of the Malaysian Philosophy Society.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
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