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Why the UK is doubling down on Asean ties amid European reset

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Britain’s new Labour government is trying to reassure Southeast Asia that its push to rebuild ties with Europe will not come at the region’s expense, analysts have said, after Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband made an Asean meeting in Manila his first overseas stop.

Appointed by Prime Minister Andy Burnham on July 20, Miliband attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers’ Meeting about 48 hours after taking office – a choice observers said pointed less to a policy reset than to continuity in Britain’s post-Brexit engagement with the bloc.

Analysts said the visit also highlighted why Asean had become more important to London: trade and supply-chain links after Brexit, maritime and regional security, and a shared interest among middle powers in keeping diplomatic space open amid intensifying great-power pressure.

The Manila gathering also marked five years since the United Kingdom became a full dialogue partner of the bloc.

“I felt it was very, very important to come straight to the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting as a sign of solidarity with Asean countries and of the importance we attach to this partnership,” Miliband said in remarks before the bloc’s foreign ministers.

He stressed his country’s “commitment to Asean and commitment for the long term”, which he said remained “just as strong for the UK’s new prime minister as it did for our previous prime minister and for me personally”.

British Foreign Minister Ed Miliband speaks during the Asean Post-Ministerial Conference with the United Kingdom in Metro Manila on July 22. Photo: Pool via Reuters
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