HERE and elsewhere in East Asia, Europe is often viewed upon as irrelevant, oblivious, or distant at best.
The prism is unfortunately discoloured by the trade disputes over palm oil, where the wealthy European countries are condemned for protecting their farmers at the expense of Malaysian smallholders.
Such accusations of double standards are further underscored at a time when Muslims around the world ask why Europeans pay such single-minded attention to Ukrainians while ignoring the plight of others.
There is inarguably a rift between the sustainability ambitions of the European Union (EU) and the developmental aspirations of Asean.
But, when European officials ask Malaysia whether the palm oil conflict is really worth endangering the EU-Asean trading relationship worth US$300 billion per year, they do not just reveal an indifference towards angering key constituents in Asean's largest democracies: they also reveal how Europe still looks at Asean countries primarily as export markets rather than strategic partners.
Yet, the coin has a flipside. The EU is frail after more than a decade of constant crises. Sustainability is an existential mission and the tie that binds this vulnerable construct together.
In the same manner that plantations, export revenues and rural regions play an intricate part in Malaysian politics, Europeans have politics of their own. The EU is not just a complex puzzle of multinational coalitions and interests. It is also a fiscal balance sheet that pays its rural regions to stay away from political extremism.
Both Malaysia and Indonesia have rightly lodged trade disputes under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation. As EU leaders attach great value to international rules, a win for Malaysia would be great leverage for a favourable economic settlement.
Yet, litigation is hardly a long-term solution since the EU will continue to enact new laws that will achieve the same results as the currently disputed ones.
For instance, a new EU Deforestation Regulation in April 2023 on agricultural imports was met with sharp criticism across Asean and Latin America.
Evidently, Malaysia's woes are not unique but are shared across the Global South in various degrees. Yet, there are no signs of Europe budging under international pressure:
The EU already plans to push ahead with ambitious targets for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) – as part of the big push to decarbonise transports – and lockout palm oil. In addition to EU laws, individual EU countries and corporations plan to impose burdensome scrutiny of social and sustainability standards.
And, it does not end here. The EU is about to change. The current president, Ursula von der Leyen, will continue as the EU chief executive and plans to expand its membership in Eastern Europe.
In the coming five years, the EU will incorporate some of the most fertile lands for oil crops in the hemisphere – and farmed by possibly one of the most protectionist people in the world.
As the EU energy and agricultural policies become even more entrenched, there will be no room to consider any outsider's views.
The relationship cannot be defined by the palm oil conflict, not least because it is inconceivable and highly improbable for the EU to ban palm oil completely. The alternatives – including rapeseed and sunflower oil – are unsuitable substitutes; or simply too expensive. This fact is known and accepted by almost everyone in Europe who matters.
The truth is that Malaysia's relationship with the EU is often discussed but rarely understood. Malaysia and Europe walk the same narrow path between "America First" and "China Dream", pressured to take sides.
Yet, Asean leaders might feel that the EU does not offer sufficient economic or security benefits to lecture them on sustainability.
Indonesia has also retaliated against the EU through trade restrictions on zinc and alcohol, while Malaysia is rescinding the contractual terms for the national 5G network built by a European vendor.
Conversely, the Europeans must realise they must offer more than just trade to Malaysia and Asean – especially at a time when Washington, Beijing, Tokyo and London realise how the future of Indo-Pacific ultimately boils down to influence over the Asean countries.
While it is true that the palm oil conflict must be resolved before the relationship with Europe can move forward, it is also true that the relationship must be deepened before the conflict can be resolved.
Europe, with all its financial and scientific resources, must show it can offer broader benefits for Malaysia. And Malaysia must invite Europe to prove its relevance – while it is still able to do so.
The writer is Director at Ecipe (European Centre for International Political Economy), Brussels