Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Molan for his question. ASEAN came into being with a vision of peaceful development in the region, and Australia's hosting of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit demonstrates our commitment to that long-held vision. It was the first meeting of its kind in Australia and an historic point in our engagement with ASEAN. There is no regional grouping of countries more important to Australia's security and prosperity. ASEAN as a group is our third largest trading partner, with two-way trade worth over $100 billion in the last financial year. As we noted during the special summit, we have the potential to do more, especially in investment.

The summit itself brought together business and government to create better conditions for stronger growth, to our mutual benefit, including through an initiative for ASEAN and Australia to develop and increase the use of digital trade standards to promote digital trade and inclusive growth; a smart cities initiative providing education, technical assistance and support for innovation to help ASEAN develop cities in smart and sustainable ways; and programs to help address the region's infrastructure needs more broadly. We are also working with ASEAN countries to keep our region safe. The foreign minister signed a counterterrorism memorandum of understanding with the Secretary-General of ASEAN, and the summit focused significantly on the region's evolving strategic environment. During the deliberations we conveyed Australia's support for the speedy conclusion of a China-ASEAN code of conduct for the South China Sea that is binding and consistent with the norms, practices and laws. The summit particularly demonstrates the Turnbull government's commitment to working with our ASEAN partners to promote economic growth and to strengthen the international rules based order.