"ASEAN member countries should manage the relationship to face turbulence in the region," an international political analyst from the Habibie Center Dewi Fortuna Anwar said here on Monday.
The statement was delivered during a seminar entitled Middle Power Possibilities at a Moment of Turbulence in the Asia-Pacific.
Dewi said that middle power countries such as ASEAN members should be able to maintain and strengthen the regional institution to face the challenges arising from the shifting of power between China and the US in the Asia-Pacific region.
"We have to be a player, not just follow or bargain with a super power country. Middle power countries should be able to change the game," she said.
ASEAN countries should create strategic autonomy in an attempt to ensure the stability, peace, and prosperity in the region.
"ASEAN must play an important role in maintaining strategic autonomy in the region," she remarked.
In addition, ASEAN member countries should create an inclusive regional architecture and use all the instruments that have been owned by the regional organization to face instability in the future.
"The countries should play their role with confidence," she stated.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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