A new turf for collaboration

SHI YU/CHINA DAILY The untapped potential of Southeast Asia's blue economy warrants multilateral collaboration While widely acknowledging the blue economy as the upcoming driver of sustainable economic development for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in pursuit of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the ASEAN Blue Economy Framework undeniably stands out as a timely blueprint for the regional bloc to advance the blue economy. Taking cognizance of the geographical edge that water makes up over 66 percent of the ASEAN region, alongside the centrality of ASEAN in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the relatively underdeveloped blue economy in Southeast Asia is set to soar in the RCEP tailwind, if the complementarity between this 15-nation collective free trade agreement and the ASEAN Blue Economy Framework can be strategically harnessed. Drawing from the past experience of collaboration in the infrastructure development projects in ASEAN under the auspices of the Belt and Road Initiative, the development of the multi-sector blue economy makes an ideal fit for the Chinese- Of the myriad anticipated challenges, the finance gap confronting the bloc's endeavor is set to be the major hurdle to cross. All in all, the blue economy is an emerging multi-sector economic turf that warrants multilateral collaboration to better manage the many aspects of oceanic sustainability, ranging from sustainable fisheries to ecosystem health to preventing pollution.