Reaction Paper to Brunei

Given the relatively unknown presence of Brunei or Brunei Darussalam compared to its
neighboring countries, Group 4 presented the country well, showing the beauty, culture, and
richness of the nation. This was highlighted in the two videos the group showed in their
presentation. Despite Brunei being such a small nation, only coming in second to Singapore in
terms of landmass and being the least populated country, there were still breathtaking landmarks,
tourist attractions, and astonishing cultures in the country. The videos by the group mainly
consist of how the people live their daily lives and even showed a glimpse of their
world-renowned hotels.

Group 4 discussed some of the essential details for Brunei starting with the country only
gaining independence recently in 1984 being the youngest among the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN). Also, the symbols of the Bruneian flag were explained which consist
of the sultan, ministers, and the prominent religion in the country, Islam. In relation to this, the
country is also said to be the most observant Islamic Nation in Southeast Asia. The cuisine of the
country was also touched upon being greatly influenced by its neighboring Malay countries,
Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. However, given the amount of information the group gave
about the country’s culture and its heritage, it failed to present the political system of the country
that has been used even before the Independence of the Nation in 1984. In addition to this, the
means of living, although touched upon in the videos with fishing and boating being the main
source, was not expounded upon. How the country also manages to become rich despite it having
such a small land area was not mentioned by Group 4.

On the other hand, the group was able to discuss how Brunei adheres to the three ASEAN
Community Pillars. Under the Political-Security Community Pillar, the group enumerated the
external forces that pose security challenges to Brunei since their independence in 1984. Among
the challenges, the maritime disputes were highlighted in the report since the dispute between the
United States and China on the trade agreements and freedom of navigation indirectly affects the
operations of Brunei. It would be good if there is an in-depth discussion on how the
disagreements between the two powerful countries affect the political and economical
environment of small countries in their respective region; however, our group understands that
this is not the focus of the report. As the reporting group acknowledged, if this escalated to war,
the neighboring countries will be forced to choose sides so it is clever for Brunei to garner
diverse ties and establish joint-venture defense deals with other countries. Brunei’s focus on
improving their military capabilities will also be beneficial in case they get involved in the
ongoing issues.

The contributions of Brunei in the ASEAN is also discussed under the Economic
Community Pillar. One of the contributions discussed is the Common Effective Preferential
Tariff (CEPT) within the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) which minimizes tariffs when trading
with each other. Establishing the CEPT was a good decision for the ASEAN members as this
promoted trading and helped improve their economy. It was also tactical for Brunei to initiate
Free Trade Agreements with non-ASEAN countries as this encouraged further economic growth
on top of improving their local production. In addition to this, our group believes that the
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is a really favorable agreement for all
Asia-Pacific countries involved as this would open a larger field for trading and will help in
improving the region’s economic state. This will likely open more opportunities for creating
bigger Free Trade Areas in the future.

Last for the Community Pillars is the Socio-Cultural Community where Brunei gave its
most attention to the education aspect. Brunei focused on building and maximizing their
educational infrastructures like schools and institutions for training and classes. Perhaps the most
advantageous step of Brunei is making their educational materials available online and other
electronic resources as this not only improved their system but also their literacy rate. Our group
thinks that adapting this system will also improve our local education system but realistically,
this will only increase accessibility in areas that have internet connectivity. However, despite all
these information, Group 4 was not able to mention how these support the ASEAN or even relate
to it. For example, Group 4 could have mentioned some of the contents of the educational
materials and explained whether these were beneficial for other ASEAN countries - Were their
landmarks mentioned? Were their cuisines and culture remarked and described? Because of the
lack of information and connection to the ASEAN, our group was left confused and disappointed
regarding this portion of the report. Aside from education, Brunei also gave attention to creating
frameworks for their care economy and promoting an adaptive ASEAN Community which are
their main programs for providing aid. The group failed to expound on the last two frameworks
which our group believe are integral parts of how Brunei adheres and contributes to the ASEAN.

Moving on to the ASEAN Way, we commend Group 4 for being able to thoroughly
explain Brunei's adherence to the principles. The country follows the mandated elements of the
ASEAN namely Maintain Peace and Cooperation, Non-Interference Policy, and Consensus on
Issues as all of the other members of the association does. However, even though it is minute in
size, the country is outspoken when it comes to issues that may affect the peace of the ASEAN
but somehow it stays neutral doing so. The country, given its status, is active regarding the issues
in the region just like the Rohingya Crisis in 2015 where Brunei provided financial aid and
offered humanitarian aid for those affected by the issues in Myanmar. They also criticized
Myanmar for such an unethical and immoral act of human rights. Brunei currently acts as the
ASEAN Chairman and leads the association in achieving all of its missions. One of which is to
maintain peace and stability which Myanmar once again, violated on its own people in the 2021
Myanmar Coup d’état. Brunei, being the chair, immediately issued a statement prioritizing law,
human rights, and democracy. Although they opposed what Myanmar did, they stood as the
neutral party among the ASEAN member states and initiated peace talks with the Tatmadaw.
Because Group 4 was able to cohesively expound on the matters, our group was astounded and
pondered how greatly Brunei maintains the ASEAN Way while acting on what it believes to be
morally right.

Even before having the current position as chairman of the ASEAN, Brunei was involved
in important issues in the region in a peaceful manner such as the South China Sea territorial
dispute. Although said to be silent, they recently had a development with the problem in 2020
but still continued to be neutral with a unified front with the Philippines and Vietnam. The APEC
summit also brought upon issues within the country involving other nations. Although this was
stated, it was not highlighted as much as our group desired it to be in the presentation as it was
the first time internal issues inside Brunei Darussalam were talked about. Finally, even though it
is small, the country does not limit itself in engaging in ASEAN issues that may affect the Pillars
holding the association.

In conclusion, Group 4 gave an informative report regarding the country of Brunei

Darussalam with regard to the ASEAN. How the country follows the community pillars and
adheres to the ASEAN way was greatly highlighted by the group. The report gave fruitful
insights into how such a small country could still have immense power and influence in the
ASEAN. However, our group cannot deny the fact that their presentation lacked thorough
research and analysis. We hope that in the future, if given the opportunity, Group 4 will be able
to expound their report regarding Brunei’s adherence to the community pillars and the ASEAN
Way to inform and provide the audience with more information and knowledge.