Thailand Sees Asean Ramping Up Geoeconomic Digital Strategy

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 Foreign ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura says a geoeconomic task force is delivering early policy recommendations, and a landmark digital agreement could double the region’s digital economy by 2030.
Thailand’s foreign ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura praised the Asean geoeconomic task force, established under Malaysia’s Asean chairmanship during an economic ministers’ retreat in February.KUALA LUMPUR: Asean has been intensifying efforts to define its economic future by prioritising a coordinated geoeconomic and digital strategy, according to Thailand’s foreign ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura
Balankura praised the Asean geoeconomic task force, which was established under Malaysia’s Asean chairmanship during an economic ministers’ retreat in February.
“They’ve made preliminary recommendations that are useful for building a more unified Asean, increasing intra-Asean trade, and advancing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP),” he said in an interview with FMT on the sidelines of the 58th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
The RCEP, signed in 2020, is the world’s largest trade pact involving all 10 Asean nations along with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
On digital strategy, Balankura noted progress on the Asean Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), which Thailand is leading as chair of the negotiations.
“If this DEFA can be concluded, Asean could become the fourth-largest economy globally by 2030. It would also double our digital economy to US$2 trillion,” he said.
The agreement, now in its final negotiation phase, aims to drive deeper digital integration through enhanced cross-border data flows, interoperable payment systems, and a more connected digital ecosystem across Asean.
Asean must unite to fight transnational crime
Thailand has also called for strong Asean-wide cooperation to dismantle transnational organised crime exploiting the region’s porous borders and digital vulnerabilities.
Balankura said while Thailand was committed to confronting the issue, the problem had long outgrown national borders.
“Many of those we rescued were not just Thais. The majority were Chinese, but there were also Indians, Africans and Europeans. This is a transnational crisis that extends well beyond Asean.
“We’ve started working closely with China, and we recognise the need to engage countries beyond Asean as well. Thailand cannot address this alone,” he said.
As such, he said, Asean should have intelligence sharing, joint investigations and regional enforcement coordination.
“We reaffirm our readiness to deepen cooperation within the region, especially with our neighbours like Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, to dismantle these criminal networks,” he said. - FMT

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