Rethinking Asean's Palestine strategy

Has the Asean chair upped the ante on the bloc's strategy regarding Palestine?

- Kavi Chongkittavorn

In this picture taken on Oct 13, 2023, Kanyarat Suriyasri, the wife of Thai worker Owat Suriyasri, who was being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, shows a picture of him and their two children. He was released by the militants on 28 Nov that year

(AFP)

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was blunt at the recent Doha Emergency Summit on Palestine regarding Israel's airstrikes on Qatar. The Asean chair called the bombing "lawless, barbaric and indefensible", decrying the attack on Doha and the peace-mediating efforts.

His words had a deeper meaning because Israel has openly declared time and time again that there will never be a Palestinian state. In fact, no other Asean leader has made such a statement. Could his call serve as a precursor for his Asean colleagues to reconsider the bloc's position towards the Middle East situation?

Since 2004, in its annual joint communique, Asean has been supporting the two-state solution for Palestine. At the latest Asean ministerial meeting in July, Asean reaffirmed its longstanding support for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their rights to self-determination and to their homeland.

"We urged all parties concerned to redouble efforts towards a peaceful resolution to the conflict, with the aim of realising the two-state solution in accordance with international law and the relevant UNSC and United Nations General Assembly resolutions," the communique stated.