The United States Ambassador to ASEAN, Yohannes Abraham, has stated that the US wants to deepen its relations with ASEAN, which is ‘absolutely critical’ to its push for greater Indo-Pacific presence. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden had said ASEAN is ‘the heart’ of his administration's Indo-Pacific strategy. Mr Abraham added that ASEAN has a vital role in regional architecture, and when the region is better off, the world is better off.
On May 24, the Singapore Dollar broke its record against the Malaysian Ringgit as it touched 3.4102, according to Bloomberg data. Malaysia’s central bank Bank Negara Malaysia said the recent weakness in the Ringgit could be attributed to external developments such as the US debt ceiling impasse and ‘episodes of stress’ in the US and European banking sectors. CNA spoke to analysts on the factors behind the Ringgit’s depreciation against the Singapore Dollar and what might lie ahead for the value of both currencies.
Former Indonesian minister Mari Pangestu believes that ASEAN needs to reinforce open regionalism and develop a long-term low-carbon vision to take advantage of opportunities or risk member states drifting apart. With open regionalism, ASEAN will engage all countries who accept its rules without discrimination against any other - unlike the exclusive trade and investment club under close regionalism.
