Editor's note: Hannan Hussain is a foreign affairs commentator and author. He is a Fulbright recipient at the University of Maryland, the U.S., and a former assistant researcher at Islamabad Policy Research Institute. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

On August 4, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) released its highly anticipated joint communique, following the bloc's 54th Foreign Ministers' Meeting earlier this week. Immediately, the strengths of ASEAN's multilayered regional consensus become clear: chief foreign ties will shape confidence-building on maritime cooperation, transformative economic partnerships incentivize long-term growth, and that political unrest anywhere in the bloc is an imperative for peace and facilitated dialogue.

"We reaffirmed our belief that regionalism and multilateralism are important principles and frameworks of cooperation, and that their strength and value lie in their inclusivity, rules-based nature and emphasis on mutual benefit and respect," read the communique.

That reaffirmation enjoys a solid footing vis-à-vis advancing peace in the South China Sea. For instance, ASEAN's warm reception of "substantive negotiations" with China on a Code of Conduct (COC) underlines the value both parties continue to place on ensuring that COC's progression on maritime stability truly keeps multiparty consensus at its heart. Illustrating this convergence is the fact that the COC is viewed effective largely based on its alignment with international law, effectively putting to rest unwarranted speculation which assumes that regional appetite exists for an alternative "rules-based" arrangement.

To that end, Wednesday's joint statement reminds us of how central international law remains to the COC's envisioned role as an enabler of peace, stability and prosperity in the South China Sea. Take the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' consideration of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as an example. It is once again presented as a stated determinant of COC's promise for the bloc. 

Similarly, it is the UNCLOS provision that also constitutes a well-established strategic rationale for the likes of China in communicating the mutually agreed set of principles that shall guide maritime rules and conduct, representative of the maritime confidence-building desired by stakeholders exclusive to the region.

On urgent security issues, ASEAN ministers' decision to appoint Brunei's Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof as the special envoy to Myanmar is a pivotal step to restoring some semblance of political stability for a key Southeast Asian voice. "The Special Envoy ... will start his work in Myanmar, including building trust and confidence with full access to all parties concerned," stated the communique.

The move merits optimism, by virtue of both its timing and international relevance. On the former front, Erywan's appointment satisfies a key requirement in ASEAN's earlier "Five Point" Consensus on Myanmar, and so affords the bloc greater latitude in coordinating cessation of violence in Myanmar through a multiparty, people-centric dialogue to read into the country's delicate political landscape. ASEAN's added emphasis on a promptly delineated implementation timeline also fits into the forward-looking consultation approach backed by some of the bloc's leading external partners. 

Above all, the fact that the special envoy's announcement arrives as the culmination of deep participatory engagement, including with Myanmar's ruling status-quo, suggests that committing the latter to a "full access" mediation process won't be entirely a mirage.

Finally, Wednesday's communique comes with important economic levers for upgrading ASEAN's connectivity and bloc integration in the region. That includes a high-value consideration of sustainable infrastructure and productivity trends post-pandemic, growing convergence between the ASEAN Community Vision for 2025 and the UN Sustainable Development Agenda, and pathways to shrinking the development gap between ASEAN and the rest of the world. 

"We welcomed a new economic model that is restorative and regenerative by design, and ... expected [it] to contribute to greater competitive, efficient and resilient ASEAN," said the ministers.

The underlying message of aiding ASEAN's growth to the benefit of East Asia's economic transformation is one that strikes a chord with the aspirations of the bloc's chief economic partners at a crucial pandemic recovery juncture. A case in point is the intersecting position of Wednesday's joint communique with the 22nd ASEAN Plus Three Meeting, both extending proportional value to the accelerated adoption of digital technologies in East Asia, particularly amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. 

As independent evidence from the Asian Development Bank confirms, Asia and the Pacific stands to reap an economic yearly dividend of over $1.7 trillion yearly on the back of such an accelerated digital transformation pivot. Given that the pivot is increasingly underway, ASEAN's progression on the digital economy represents much more than just internal bloc initiative: it is the definition of regional cooperation.

Hence evident, by capitalizing on a cluster of political, security and economic interventions, ASEAN continues to position itself as a catalyst for multilateral cooperation and regional integration in Asia. That is a brand of progress that factors peace-seeking commitments from time-tested external partners, closes ranks behind political stability for all member states, and keeps East Asian economics in a constant state of evolution.

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