Southeast Asia

Australia and the East Asia Summit

Through our active policy agenda and our leadership of, and support for, Australian delegations to EAS meetings, the department strengthened the EAS as the region’s premier forum for addressing key strategic challenges.

We influenced the content of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration issued by leaders in November 2015. The declaration sets out the commitment of EAS leaders to work together to build a peaceful and stable regional environment in the context of ongoing tensions in the South China Sea and the Korean Peninsula, the return of foreign fighters from the Middle East and slower, uneven economic growth.

The department led a whole-of-government effort to deliver an EAS Leaders’ Statement on Countering Violent Extremism that will encourage countries to share their experiences and develop counter-narratives to combat the terrorist threat. Australia co-sponsored a Leaders’ Statement on Enhancing Maritime Cooperation, which elevated the importance of key maritime security principles, including the freedom of navigation and overflight and peaceful settlement of disputes.

Looking ahead, the department will support initiatives to strengthen the EAS’s institutional capacity. The development of an EAS ambassadors’ mechanism based in Jakarta will help members respond to emerging issues in real time, without waiting for scheduled EAS meetings. The creation of a dedicated EAS unit within the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta will also, in time, promote better monitoring and implementation of EAS decisions.

The department’s investment in building the EAS’s policy and institutional capacity continues to strengthen our bilateral relations with Southeast Asian countries and enhances the culture of dialogue and cooperation that promotes regional stability.

Myanmar elections – facilitating democracy

In November 2015, Myanmar held its first successful and openly contested elections since 1960—an important milestone in the country’s democratic transition. The elections were conducted in a peaceful and orderly manner. The election—a resounding victory for Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy—provided an opportunity for the people of Myanmar to express their political will.

The department supported the elections as part of a broader objective of promoting stability and prosperity in our region. We provided $5.4 million through the International Foundation for Electoral Systems and the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) to strengthen Myanmar’s Union Election Commission (UEC), train poll workers and support voter education.

Our support enabled the UEC to modernise training practices for 81,000 polling station officials, many of whom had never previously run an election. The training allowed them to implement electoral laws effectively and run a well-managed process. Our assistance also helped support marginalised groups, including disabled people and ethnic minorities, participate in the elections.

The department also funded The Asia Foundation to produce an innovative smartphone app that provided information about the elections, candidates, political parties and election procedures. The app was accessed more than 12 million times.

The department supported ten Australian teams to observe the conduct of the elections in nearly 100 polling stations across six states and regions. Teams included Australian parliamentarians Senators Dean Smith and Scott Ludlam and Ms Lisa Chesters MP, and officials from the AEC and the Australian Embassy in Yangon. These teams were an important component of a broader local and international effort to bring transparency and accountability to the conduct of the elections.

Our experience in supporting Myanmar’s successful elections demonstrated the value of strong relationships with the UEC and close coordination among stakeholders to maximise the effectiveness and reach of our assistance. The department will build on this experience in our ongoing support for the UEC as it prepares for elections in 2020.

Advancing economiC ties with Singapore

The department was instrumental in delivering a package of new initiatives to advance our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) with Singapore. The highlights include a significant upgrade to the 2003 Singapore–Australia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) and a major enhancement to defence cooperation. The package forms part of a decade-long plan to strengthen strategic, trade, economic, defence and people-to-people links with Singapore.

The initial major package under the CSP was the culmination of intense negotiations with Singapore by Special Envoy for Trade, Andrew Robb, and department officials. The 9th Singapore–Australia Joint Ministerial Committee meeting in Sydney in March 2016 provided directions regarding the outcomes later formally announced by prime ministers on 6 May 2016.

The SAFTA improvements significantly enhance market access and labour mobility for Australian businesses operating in Singapore. As a gateway to the region, improved access to Singapore will mean greater opportunities for Australian businesses in regional markets.

Through the CSP, the department worked with multiple Australian government agencies to accelerate cooperation with Singapore in innovation, tourism, education, science, visual and performing arts, research and technology. Australia will locate one of its five innovation landing pads in Singapore, providing exciting opportunities for Australian start-ups to link into global networks. Greater tourism cooperation with Singapore will occur through sharing research, data and market insights.

Work on the CSP is an important example of how the department coordinates across government to deliver strong outcomes for Australia. As a result of the initial CSP package, Australian businesses in Singapore and the region have more opportunities, and people-to-people links will intensify in the years ahead.

Improving livelihoods in Timor-Leste

The department’s aid program in Timor-Leste adopted innovative approaches to improving livelihoods, enhancing human development and strengthening governance and institutions, including by integrating gender equality, nutrition and disability-inclusive development into all sectoral programs.

Our Farming for Prosperity program, known as ‘TOMAK’, commenced in 2016 as Australia’s first nutrition-sensitive agriculture investment. It will focus on improving the diets of rural households and raising incomes by linking farmers to markets and supporting farmers to grow more nutritious food. This builds on the success of the Seeds of Life program (2011–16), which improved the development and distribution of better-yielding varieties of staple food crops.

To address high rates of maternal mortality, illiteracy and childhood stunting, the department’s aid program focused on basic education and maternal and child health. We supported the training of 262 teachers to improve children’s learning outcomes and we helped 12,163 people access maternal and family planning services. Our ‘Liga Inan’ (‘Linking Mothers’) program adopted an innovative approach to maternal health, using text messages to enable midwives to provide information and advice to mothers before, during and after child birth.

The department advanced economic diversification in Timor-Leste by supporting local businesses through the Market Development Facility (MDF). For example, MDF supported a salt production business, NPM Industries, to improve its marketing and quality assurance. NPM offers a higher quality product at a lower price than its imported competition and is a recognised leader in Timor-Leste’s nascent agribusiness sector.

In 2015–16, the department implemented a holistic strategy to improve gender equality in all of our aid investments. We helped address the causes and consequences of violence against women, with 3,168 clients accessing domestic violence shelters and support services during the year. The success of this approach demonstrates the importance of breaking down information silos and seeing development as an integrated set of challenges that all our programs can assist in overcoming.