Asean should make exception to non-interference principle for education, says Indonesia’s ex-trade minister

[SINGAPORE] Asean should consider making an exception to its longstanding principle of non-interference when it comes to education, to narrow the widening disparities among its member states, said Indonesia’s former minister of trade Gita Wirjawan on Wednesday (Sep 30).  

Speaking on the second day of the Asia New Vision Forum Innovation 2026, Wirjawan – who held the trade portfolio in South-east Asia’s biggest economy between 2011 and 2014 – noted that the region prides itself on its diversity.

“But the young generation, I think, oftentimes confuses diversity with divergence. They’re not synonymous,” he said in a panel discussion at the forum presented by Caixin Global.

The Business Times was a media partner for the event.

During the panel discussion, titled “When Politics Moves Markets: Investor Calculus in Vietnam and Indonesia”, Wirjawan traded views on the region with Le Hong Hiep, a senior fellow and coordinator of the Vietnam Studies Programme at Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.  

Wirjawan, who authored a book on how South-east Asia can rise to global leadership, said the divergence across the region is manifested in the economic performance of Asean’s 11 member countries.

To illustrate, he cited the wide disparities in per capita gross domestic product across the region. World Bank data indicates that GDP per capita in 2025 ranged from around US$99,000 in Singapore to about US$2,300 in Laos. 

“I would argue that the economic attainment divergence is correlated with the educational attainment divergence,” said Wirjawan.

For instance, he noted that in higher education, universities in Singapore rank among the world’s leading institutions, and those in several other major South-east Asian economies remain outside the global top 100.

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A similar gap can be seen at the school level.  

The latest Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) results showed wide disparities in the performance of 15-year-olds in South-east Asia. Singapore was among the world’s top performers, while other participating economies in the region scored below the average in mathematics, reading and science in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Paris-based club of rich nations.

Wirjawan stressed that if these disparities are not addressed, either by individual countries or collectively, the region would be “at risk much more systemically” as shifts in geopolitics, technology, economics and climate accelerate.

While Asean’s doctrine of non-interference in the internal affairs of one another has served the region well, he suggested “some degree of supranationalism, strictly for educational purposes”.

This could bring about a “higher degree of convergence” and build the collective capacity needed to respond more effectively to shifts in climate, technology, economics and geopolitics, he said.

“As long as there is divergence, there won’t be centrality,” he said. 

If every South-east Asian country could eventually perform above the global average in Pisa and have a university among the world’s top 100, the region would have the “collective wisdom”, centrality and agency to navigate with China, the West and other major powers, he argued.

Wirjawan also pointed to the importance of attracting high-quality teachers, noting that Singapore recruits teachers from among its stronger students and pays them substantially more than Indonesia does.

Human capital is “underpinned by the quality of teaching”, he said.

“Geopolitical dexterity”

Asked by the moderator, Caixin Media senior editor Xu Heqian, how Asean should respond to disruptions from artificial intelligence and automation, Le said that while such technologies offer both opportunities and challenges, the biggest risk is dependency.

US and Chinese companies control much of the technology, capabilities, applications and infrastructure underpinning AI, he noted.

“So the dependency risk is real. We have to deal with this by being neutral, taking the middle way, and try to promote our autonomy,” he said.

Autonomy does not mean having to control every aspect of AI, he said, but retaining the ability to choose the technologies and applications that best serve the national interest. 

This means diversifying rather than relying on a single power – working with both Chinese and Western companies and developing domestic capabilities.

Wirjawan, picking up on the point, said said Asean would need “geopolitical dexterity” to navigate competition among the major powers. The region should increasingly look to China for technological capital, while continuing to look to the West for economic capital.

Chinese technological capital was more affordable for developing South-east Asian economies, he said, though greater technological diffusion was needed.

This could entail Chinese companies such as BYD, Xiaomi and Oppo building factories in the region, rather than merely supplying goods and services to it.

“I think what’s required for South-east Asia is a meaningful degree of geopolitical dexterity. This requires, I think, a massive amount of educational attainment.”