What Turkey’s upgrade to Asean dialogue partner status means

Turkey’s ascension to Asean dialogue partner marks the west Asian country’s bid to position itself as a middle power, according to analysts. The upgrade on July 21 breaks an Association of Southeast Asian Nations moratorium in place since the UK’s admission in 2021. Turkey joins the US, China, Russia, Britain, Australia, Japan and South Korea. In a social media post on the same day, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara had increased its cooperation with Asean members and raised trade volume from US$6.5 billion to US$16 billion since “laying the foundation of our institutional relations with Asean in 2010”. “We believe that our political and economic cooperation with the Asean region, which has a population of around 700 million and an economy exceeding US$4 trillion, will deepen even further,” he said. Turkey’s relations with the bloc began with the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in 2010. It was later conferred sectoral dialogue partner status in 2017. The country enjoys strong trading ties in the region – particularly with Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. Malaysia serves as coordinator for Asean-Turkey relations. Ankara has also seen defence and trade ties with the bloc grow, having sold advanced drones, armoured vehicles, corvettes, helicopters and other weapons systems to Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. “This development is of utmost importance in terms of enhancing our impact in the Asia-Pacific, which is the eastern axis of our global diplomacy, advancing our long-term strategy towards the Asean region, and finalising our existing projects,” Fidan added. Middle-power bridge Analysts say Turkey’s efforts in elevating its status reflect its role as a growing autonomous middle power. “When President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan says the world is bigger than five, the point is that global governance should reflect more voices,” said Mehmet Salah Devrim, a researcher at the Ankara-based think tank SETA Foundation. “Asean’s insistence on centrality and Turkey’s policy of strategic autonomy come from a similar place – a desire to keep one’s own options open during a time when strategic flexibility is increasingly scarce,” he said. “Turkey has always perceived itself as a bridge between continents and people. And that self-perception has left its imprint on its foreign policy.” The challenge is translating this into practical policy, according to Mehmet Enes Beser, the founding director of the Bosphorus Centre for Asian Studies. “Ankara sees the international system becoming more fragmented and multipolar, and it increasingly presents Turkey as a country capable of working across established political blocs,” the Ankara-based researcher on Southeast Asia said. “Asean’s own instinct is similar in one important respect … Malaysia’s description of Turkey as an honest and reliable friend reflects a significant degree of political trust. Anwar [Ibrahim] and Erdogan have close ties personally,” he said. “Yet trust must now be converted into consistency: attending meetings, consulting all member states, funding concrete projects, and accepting Asean’s consensus-based and sometimes gradual institutional culture.” Observers say Turkey’s elevation is a natural continuity of ties set in place since 2010. “I would read the decision less as the start of something new, and more as Asean and Turkey formally acknowledging a relationship that had been maturing for a long time,” Devrim said. Turkey comes without the historical or political baggage that complicates other partnerships. “Turkey is neither geographically nor politically part of the traditional competition surrounding Southeast Asia … and this can allow it to be regarded as an additional and potentially constructive partner,” Beser said. He cautioned, however, not to overstate the move. “Asean is not placing Turkey in a hierarchy of powers. Rather, it is recognising that Turkey has become relevant enough to engage across a much broader agenda.” Beyond market size The importance of Asean to Turkey went “beyond the size of its consumer market”, Beser said. “Ankara has traditionally approached Asia largely through bilateral relations. Asean gives Turkey a regional framework and requires it to think more institutionally, patiently and multilaterally,” Beser said. Turkey has free trade agreements with Malaysia and Singapore, with a similar pact under way for Thailand. “The economic agenda is ambitious on paper, with Ankara targeting US$10 billion trade with Indonesia and Malaysia alike. The current trade volume was less than half that last year,” Devrim said, adding that such growth would require approaching the region as one integrated economic space rather than through separate bilateral tracks. Turkey and Asean should take this opportunity to move away from transactional trade and towards industrial partnership, Beser said. “Turkey should not approach Asean solely as a market for Turkish finished products.” Instead, the relationship should focus on joint ventures, local supplier networks, vocational training, technology transfer and co-production. “Turkey has useful industrial and engineering capabilities, while Asean possesses dense manufacturing ecosystems, competitive supply chains and rapidly expanding markets. The two sides should combine these strengths rather than simply trying to sell more goods to one another,” he added. Security is another area to explore. “Regional partners are primarily drawn to the Turkish defence industry because of its willingness for technology sharing and local co-production,” Devrim said. Beser said that other strategic opportunities lay in disaster response, counterterrorism, cybersecurity, food and energy security, humanitarian aid and defence-industry cooperation. “Turkey’s experience in disaster management and humanitarian operations could be particularly relevant to a region frequently affected by earthquakes, floods, storms and other natural disasters,” he said. However, the dialogue partner status itself would not automatically produce an economic or strategic dividend, Beser warned. The coming Asean-Turkey plan of action should include measurable projects, financing mechanisms, regular ministerial engagement, stronger business-to-business institutions and clear implementation timetables, he said. “If the new status is translated into such practical mechanisms, Turkey–Asean relations can develop into a substantive industrial and strategic partnership,” Beser said. “If the relationship remains dominated by ceremonial meetings and broad declarations, the present momentum will eventually fade.”

What Turkey’s upgrade to Asean dialogue partner status means

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan calls the development ‘of utmost importance’ in its relationship with Asia-Pacific countries

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan calls the development ‘of utmost importance’ in its relationship with Asia-Pacific countries