accession of Greece to Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation (TAC) in Southeast Asia, after the unanimous agreement of the ASEAN member states, the foreign minister will sign today Nikos Dendiaswho is located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for this purpose, as well as for contacts with his counterparts in the Member States (Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, India, Philippines, Singapore and Brunei). In addition to Mr. Dendias, representatives of Denmark, the Netherlands, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will sign the pact today. The meeting of Mr. Dendias with his Chinese counterpart is of particular interest to the Greek side. Greece’s current accession to the TAC is a process that began at the end of 2020, when Mr. Dendias requested it in writing from his Vietnamese counterpart (Vietnam held the ASEAN chairmanship at the time).

ASEAN is an organization representing countries with a population approaching 600 million and a total GDP of over 3 trillion. Euro. The organization was founded in 1967 by Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, and later joined by five other countries: Brunei (1984), Vietnam (1995), Laos (1997), Myanmar (1997) and Cambodia (1998). ASEAN, especially at the level of economic relations, signs binding agreements for its members with major global actors such as the US, China and Russia, as well as the EU. Turkey also maintains close economic relations with an organization (which, after all, is also participating in the session as an observer these days), which, among other things, positions itself as a defender of the rights of Muslims in the wider region, trying to close relations with Indonesia, the state with the largest Muslim population in the world.

Political benefits for the country from the participation of Mr. Dendias in the ASEAN meeting.

For Greece, of course, the political goal is different and is based on the need to tighten relations with the member states of an organization operating on the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of disputes and renunciation of the threat or use of force. In addition, ASEAN is a strong supporter of the Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which is perhaps expected since its members cite it as a key argument for settling disputes with China in the South China Sea.

During these three days, in all contacts he makes with his fellow Member States, Mr. Dendias represents the position of Greece in the Eastern Mediterranean, refuting Turkey’s doubts about the sovereignty and sovereign rights of Greece and the Republic of Cyprus.