A new security concern on the horizon

The roll-out of the Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative by China provides a timely framework for the ASEAN-China collaboration in agricultural development and food security

In the years preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, food security was on the back burner for most member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations amid robust GDP growth brought about by globalization.

While the region was still in the throes of COVID-19, the size of the hungry population teetering on the brink of malnutrition and famine worldwide witnessed a sharp rise to 258 million people in 2022 from 193 million the year before. The ASEAN region was not spared the exigency either. More than 60 million people remain undernourished in the region that was once dubbed the most dynamic regional bloc in the world.

The cost of food imports and agricultural production soared to a record high when wheat and fertilizer exports were disrupted after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022. Alongside the economic fallout, the vulnerable food security stands out as a clear regional concern and a policy priority.

Parallel to this, the protectionist export bans on certain food items within the region ring the alarm of "food nationalism" which some countries justify by citing "prioritizing self-sufficiency". Nonetheless, the latter is no answer to the exigency. Instead, it would only put regional integration to the test.

While the agricultural output in ASEAN is becoming increasingly unsustainable to feed its ever-growing population, marine resources are getting depleted at an unprecedented rate because of escalating unregulated overfishing in the region.

Against such a backdrop, not only is the ASEAN-China Year of Agricultural Development and Food Security Cooperation a timely and relevant initiative in response to the exigency, more importantly, it calls for international solidarity and concerted action to arrest the woes amid the declining confidence.

Indeed, this is a new dimension of collaboration in the domain of non-traditional security concerns where ASEAN has yet to have a coherent and coordinated security architecture. Neither is it an easy feat at a time when the trust deficit is riding high worldwide and global collaboration is getting more fragmented than ever before along geopolitical lines.

Unlike the traditional security interests where antagonistic military might and competing security pacts dominate the scene, non-traditional security exigencies see the emergence of insecurity in such key areas as food, energy and climate change. And the only key to addressing such regional or global woes lies in coordinated efforts and collective wisdom through multilateral collaboration, instead of antagonistic face-off.

In the face of mounting pressure of food insecurity, ASEAN is in dire need of capacity building in stabilizing its collective food supply chain. In this respect, all efforts in addressing the formidable challenges posed by climate change as well as agricultural output in the region are inseparable from technological empowerment.

Facilities of logistical connectivity, storage and refrigeration are absolutely necessary to make the remedial efforts viable. All these constitute the new drivers of economic growth in the region that may require the injection of Chinese capital and experience.

The roll-out of the Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative by China provides a timely framework for ASEAN-China collaboration in agricultural development and food security. Both the China-proposed initiatives, consistent with the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, are anticipated to fulfill the regional bloc's dire need for "empowerment" through capacity building.

Prior to this, Beijing's partnership diplomacy was largely economy-driven. Security hardly ever took the driver's seat although China is the second largest funds-provider for the UN peacekeeping missions, in addition to deploying the most number of peacekeeping troops among permanent members of the UN Security Council.

In the current context, the international community has to live with the new paradigm of security concern where antagonism in the zero-sum perspective is no solution to the prevailing conundrums. Food insecurity in ASEAN is a case in point. It is now taken cognizance of as a critical pillar of regional security against a challenging backdrop where it's also a strategic guarantee of global peace and development.

From the perspective of regional geopolitical dynamics, the success of ASEAN-China collaboration in addressing such a grave challenge will no doubt add another feather to Beijing's cap of comprehensive strategic partnership with its Southeast Asian neighbor.

This enabler's role, consistent with the ideal of forging a community with a shared future for humanity, is all set to enrich the prevailing bleak scenario of global governance with a refreshing element of symbiotic collaboration in the real sense.

The author is chairman of the Belt and Road Initiative Caucus for the Asia-Pacific and a senior fellow of the Taihe Institute, China. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn