Chairing Asean, Philippine fiesta style

There is a song for the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), a commemorative stamp for the occasion, and a Filipino pop singer proudly announcing that he is "Filipino, proudly Asean".

No less than Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte can be seen on video, sounding like he is a some kind of tourism marketer: "In 2017, we, the Filipinos, are proud to welcome you to 7,107 islands of beauty, wonder and fun that will make a year of memories last a lifetime. Mabuhay ang [long live] Asean!"

The Philippines is pulling out all the stops in its chairmanship of Asean in 2017, packaging it as something of a fiesta. But few in this country of 103 million people -- Asean's second most populous country -- really know what the fuss is all about or how Asean figures in their lives.

The year 2017 brings with it more than the usual pegs for public attention -- it is Asean's 50th year and the Philippines chairs it under a new government that has created foreign-policy ripples not seen in Southeast Asia for some time.

But many are a bit lost about Asean. "Japan, the Philippines, South Korea," Jhoanna Gonzaga, a 26-year-old registered nurse, said when asked to name Asean members. She had "no idea" about Asean summits to be held in the country, she added.

Some Filipino diplomats say the Philippines, located away from the Southeast Asian mainland, has the least awareness about Asean. News editors rue that many journalists do not have a deep enough handle to cover Asean issues this year, including the two summits and other ministerial meetings and retreats -- not to mention the nuances around issues that have been simmering in Asean for decades.

"It all boils down to the elements of a news story: proximity. Or the lack of it. Geographically, Filipinos are far from the rest of Asean," said editor Luz Rimban of Vera Files, a Philippine-based news site, "but it's also like chicken and egg. Our audiences are hardly exposed to other Asean countries and aren't interested, unless they get to travel, which is a pull factor. And they aren't exposed because Asean stories aren't included in the menu of news stories."

In sum, Asean is not quite in the Filipino worldview. Southeast Asia may not be as naturally part of the Filipino psyche as it is for Asean countries that share land borders or are a one-hour flight away from each other. Yet ironically, the Philippines is also one of the most globalised nations on earth, with well over 10 million nationals working in more than 120 countries.

LOOKING WEST?

It has been said that the Philippines feels different from the rest of Asean in terms of political culture, or that its archipelagic nature makes it insular, if not parochial. Some quip that it seems like a part of Latin America -- not least due to its Spanish colonial past -- that happened to move eastwards on the map.

"But no, the Philippines is not so much insular as it is oriented more westward. The lack of appreciation of Asean goes both ways. On the one hand, among citizens, there is less affinity with our regional neighbours than there is with far away North America and Europe. On the other hand, the government itself has not really looked to Asean as a unique platform, given that what it commits to it also makes available to everyone else," explained Jenina Joy Chavez of the Manila-based Action for Economic Reforms, who has worked in civil society engagement with Asean.

The Philippines' chairmanship calls attention to its identity as an Asean member, and how it can use this and the group's 50th year to 'sell' Asean and regional integration to the public -- beyond the jingles.

DOING ITS OWN THING

The Philippines has a reputation for being willing to "do its own thing" in Asean.

Former President Corazon Aquino had publicly called for the release of dissident Aung San Suu Kyi, now Myanmar's de factor leader, even when her colleagues did not. Mr Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino, broke from the Asean way by going to court in The Hague in 2013 against China's building of permanent structures in the South China Sea and the blocking of access to shoals that its fishermen used.

In late 2016, Mr Duterte stuck more closely to Asean's stated approach of dealing bilaterally between claimants in the South China Sea while a multilateral approach remains on the back burner. His overtures to China after the Permanent Court of Arbitration's favourable verdict for the Philippines in July 2016 eased regional tensions with Beijing, and he delivered the domestic goods, by getting Filipino fishermen back into Scarborough Shoal.

But this also pulled the rug from countries like Vietnam, which was hoping to ride on the benefits of The Hague verdict to keep China in check.

It remains to be seen whether Mr Duterte's newfound closeness with China will give Manila more clout in pushing the snail-paced progression of the non-binding 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea into a framework for implementing the still-to-be-done Code of Conduct. This code, should it ever come around, would be legally binding.

The Philippines also has a reputation of being a promoter of human rights, political openness and willingness to engage with civil society, which is far from natural for some Asean states. Ironically, however, the Philippines is now the subject of criticism for rights issues in its anti-drug campaign that has killed about 7,000 people.

MIGRANTS' RIGHTS AS AN ASEAN DIVIDEND

The world's largest exporter of human labour, the Philippines takes up the cudgels for migrant workers' rights, a politically sensitive matter for Asean that comprises both labour-sending and labour-receiving countries. As Asean chair, the Philippines is pushing for progress this year on the implementation of such rights -- a full decade after the Asean Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers was issued the last time the Philippines was Asean chair in 2007.

Globally, Manila pushed for accession of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention on the protection of migrants and their families' rights, but turning the much more limited Asean version into a legal instrument beyond a declaration may be tougher given reservations by countries like Malaysia and Singapore.

How much consensus Manila can build around a legal instrument on migrants' rights remains to be seen, as well as how much leeway it will have as a courtesy to an incumbent Asean chair. Though it will not be earth-shaking, an instrument on migrants' rights would touch on a gut issue that Filipinos -- and the huge migrant constituency -- can see as a clear dividend from Asean Community membership.

Asean is seen as distant and amorphous because of missing links like this. "Unfortunately, the one thing that could alleviate this, the migration protection instrument is being held up because member states are not yet ready to harmonise labour and migrant rights," Ms Chavez of the Action for Economic Reforms pointed out.

So where is Asean in the Filipino mindset?

"Yes, we are an Asean race," said Anna Moran, a journalist. "But most Filipinos have believed and still continue to believe that if we are to end up in any trouble, the US will be there for us. Most Filipinos view Asean as a group of countries that is perhaps more 'social' than anything else. So it is more of the need to be friendly with our neighbours because of our geographical proximity -- but not because we could actually be a force to be reckoned with if we are united as one."