ASEAN Trio Network

The ATN is a proposed framework bringing together three vital stakeholders: Diplomats (particularly
ASEAN Committees in Third Countries [ACTC] such as the ASEAN Committee Wellington [ACW]), Academics
and Experts (eg Practitioners, ie Businessmen, Military Officers, NGO leaders, etc) in cities such as
Wellington, for substantive matters. The basic ATN activity is to hold seminars featuring a lead discussant
in a particular area, such as Security, Business, Development, Socio-Cultural etc., with a panel of
respondents from the three stakeholder groups. The seminar proceedings will then be consolidated as
papers / articles / monographs.
ATN activities could be inter-regional (ie ASEAN-Pacific Island Forum), regional (ie ASEAN), regional plus (ie
ASEAN-NZ) or bilateral (ie Philippines-NZ) in scope. An example of a ATN Seminar could feature a visiting
ASEAN Senior Official or Professor as lead discussant and focus on ASEAN-NZ Security relations. The
stakeholder group participants would be: (a) Diplomats – the ASEAN Committee Wellington (ACW), (b)
Academics – Professors of Wellington Region Universities and Think Tank Researchers, and (c) Experts –
ACW Defence Attaches, and ASEAN Military Officers studying in NZ.
The rationale for the ATN is to be able to enhance and maximize the contributions of individual ASEAN
Missions and the ACW on substantive matters - for our respective Foreign Ministries and to the ASEAN
Communities and Secretariat. The ATN approach allow us to make more holistic and synergistic reporting
and analyses, as we would benefit from the interplay of the three stakeholder groups.
It has been noted that much of the substantive activity of ASEAN, such as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF),
ASEAN Defence and other non-Foreign Ministry Meetings (ie ADMM, ADMM+, et al), and ASEAN Dialogue
Partner Meetings tend to exclude the participation of ACTC Embassies and High Commissions. For example,
the ACW was not invited to participate in the 24 th ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue held in Christchurch last
March 2017. Similarly, the ACW was not involved whatsoever in the ARF Defence Officials’ Dialogue (DOD)
/ ARF Inter-Sessional Support Group Meeting on Confidence Building Measures and Preventive Diplomacy
(ISG on CBMs and PD) Dialogue held in Auckland in May 2018.
This state of affairs is most regrettable, as much of the dynamics of ASEAN- and ASEAN-member state
relations with Third Countries are driven by ACTCs and ACTC Missions. By excluding ACTCs in these critical
ASEAN processes, many great opportunities are missed. This tends to reinforce the stereotype that
“Ambassadors are only good for cocktail parties.”
Thus, the ATN approach will provide us a ready mechanism to maximize substantive opportunities as they
arise.
The Philippine Embassy in Wellington has begun to discuss this approach with Victoria University of
Wellington’s Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS) and the NZ Southeast Asia Centre for Asia-Pacific Excellence
(SEAPAC). It has been recommended that ATN Seminars can be organized for, for example, ASEAN Senior
Officials visiting NZ, and incoming ASEAN experts such as the NZ ASEAN@50 Fellows.
jesus.domingo@dfa.gov.ph