ASEAN would like to provide a platform where everyone can sit at the table: Indonesia's ambassador at WION World Order

ASEAN intends to reclaim its position in the Indo-Pacific region, speaking at the WION World Order forum Indonesia's ambassador to India Sidharto Suryodipuro said that ASEAN takes into account the developments in the Indo Ocean region while making connections.

"ASEAN's concept is to bring everybody on the same table and to discuss Indo-Pacific and how to make it beneficial to all from the security, stability and prosperity perspectives," Suryodipuro added.

ASEAN created 50 years ago is a group of 10 countries including Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Brunei Darussalam with headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia. 

Papua New Guinea is the observer in the group. 

Chutintorn Sam Gongsakdi, Thailand's ambassador to India said: "ASEAN would like to provide a platform where everyone can sit at the table, we are hoping that the East Asia Summit that comes up - the leaders can speak in an informal and open way as we are doing now about the situation in the region.

"The Indo-Pacific is our response to how we can maintain geographical balance in the region, how we can engage all these players in a constructive manner because in the end, what we want is economic development," Thailand's ambassador to India said.

Both ambassadors emphasised that security, stability and connectivity were the key areas which the ASEAN would focus upon while ensuring that every country in the group prospers equally.

The forum members which also included ambassador from Vietnam to India SanhChau Pham and Chargé d'Affaires of Afghanistan in India Tahir Qadiry asserted on the need to keep "geographical balance" in order to keep ASEAN relevant for all stakeholders.