In 2022, Singapore's cultural development has basically overcome the impact of the epidemic and returned to the right track. Compared to 2021, Singapore's Ministry of Culture, Social Security and Youth has been more proactive in guiding cultural development. In addition to traditional work areas, the Ministry of Culture, Social Affairs and Youth also plays an important role in the new policy cluster of the upcoming fourth generation leadership in Singapore. Cultural policies have become an integral part of the overall policy, with a significant increase in cross departmental integration, coverage and influence. The most indicative of the above changes is the new policy introduced by the Singapore government in June 2022: 'Forward Singapore'.

（1） The debut of the fourth generation leadership in Singapore: 'Advancing Singapore'

On June 28, 2022, two months after being elected as the fourth generation leader of the Singapore People's Action Party, Lawrence Wong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Singapore, delivered a speech to officially launch "Forward Singapore".

The reason why Huang Xuncai proposed "moving forward to Singapore" is as follows: "My fourth generation team and I believe we should take a step back, reflect on our current situation, think about our future goals, and how we can achieve them... Let's redefine our fundamental values, re-examine our principles, re-examine our priorities and policies, and together open up new paths forward

As the new generation of leadership that is about to take over, Huang Xuncai and his team have proposed "Moving Forward to Singapore" at this time, which can be seen as a policy "collective appearance" and the first work plan submitted to address Singapore's domestic and foreign affairs situation after the epidemic.

The implementation period of 'Forward Singapore' is one year, and a summary report will be released in the second half of 2023. This policy, with the Ministry of Culture, Social Security and Youth as the intersection point, links multiple major government departments in Singapore and proposes multiple specific policies.

As of May 12, 2023, over 14000 Singaporeans have participated in approximately 140 series of activities related to this policy. In these activities, Singaporeans have demonstrated their support for common values such as advocating fairness, deepening inclusiveness, and creating a culture of reciprocity.

The goal of 'Advancing Singapore' is to explore values, priority areas, and policy options that can enhance social cohesion for the development of our country. These goals are mainly achieved through the following six areas.

Firstly, empowerment mainly involves the economy and employment. Dealing with issues includes Singaporeans' concerns about maintaining their competitiveness in employment and obtaining vocational training opportunities, challenges in improving skill levels, and concerns about career interruptions.

Secondly, equipment mainly involves education and lifelong learning. The main response to the problem is to maintain upward mobility in Singaporean society, expand the definition of success in society, and provide more diverse opportunities.

Thirdly, care mainly involves health and social support. Coping with issues includes the challenges faced by Singaporeans in establishing families and maintaining household expenses, support for vulnerable groups, and mental health.

Fourthly, construction mainly involves housing issues and transportation systems. Addressing issues includes Singapore's "Home Ownership Scheme" and improving the inclusiveness of the transportation system.

Fifth, Steward, mainly involves sustainable development of the environment and finance. Addressing issues includes funding support for Singapore's circular economy and diversified needs.

Sixth, Unity, mainly involves Singapore identity recognition. Dealing with issues includes how to enhance identity, protect multiculturalism and diversity, and increase public participation by clarifying the connotation of Singaporean identity.

Among the six major areas mentioned above, "care" and "unity" highly overlap with the original work areas of the Ministry of Culture, Social Security and Youth. Although the other four areas are not directly related, cross departmental collaboration is inevitable in practical work. As a set of policy "combination punches" launched by the new generation leadership team of the Singapore People's Action Party on the six major areas of Singaporean society, "Forward Singapore" actually carried out a cross departmental integration of the division of labor and personnel allocation of multiple core departments, including the Ministry of Culture, Social Security and Youth, from the second half of 2022 to the first half of 2023.

The specific goals, coordinating departments, and responsible persons for the six major areas of the "Forward Singapore" policy have been clearly listed on its official website, and will be discussed one by one below.

It is not surprising that the economy, as the top priority of Singapore's government work since its establishment, has emerged as the first major area in the "Forward Singapore" initiative. In the policy background introduction, "Forward Singapore" provides a clear description of the role played by the Singapore government in the current challenges facing the Singapore economy: "The Singapore government continues to strive to build a strong and dynamic economy, providing good employment opportunities for Singaporeans. We will work together to create a society full of opportunities. We will invest in every Singaporean, not just at the beginning, but at every stage of their lives

It is not difficult to see that the fourth generation of Singapore's leadership continues the tradition of previous Singapore governments placing high importance on economic work, and regards creating employment opportunities, improving employment rates and quality, and enhancing retirement security as the main tasks to improve voter satisfaction. The Ministry of Human Resources, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Sustainable Development and Environment, and Ministry of State are the core departments of the Singapore government, with ministers, senior government ministers, and government enterprise liaison officers coordinating this work, demonstrating the importance that the fourth generation of Singapore's leadership places on "empowerment" (see Table 1).

表1 “赋能”领域的具体目标、对接部门及负责人
领域	具体目标	对接部门	主要负责人	其他负责人
赋能	1.增强本地企业为新加坡人提供良好就业机会的能力 2.培养本地人才把握创业机会 3.支持新加坡人拥有多种职业上升通道，以确保职业生涯健康发展 4.支持新加坡人保持职业生涯的生命力和适应力，帮助居民从挫折中重新出发 5.为新加坡人能够安心步入退休生活提供保障，尤其是对弱势社群	人力资源部、贸易及工业部、可持续发展及环境部、国务部	人力资源部部长兼贸易及工业部第二部长陈诗龙（Tan See Leng）	人力资源部兼可持续发展及环境部高级政务部长许宝琨（Koh Poh Koon）、全国贸易联合会秘书长黄志明（Ng Chee Meng）
资料来源：“前进新加坡”专页，新加坡文社青部网站，https：//www.forwardsingapore.gov.sg/pillars/empower，最后访问日期：2023年5月12日。原文为英语，笔者译，下同，此后不赘。

Table 1 Specific goals, liaison departments, and responsible persons in the field of "empowerment"

The life experience of the main person in charge, Chen Shilong, is almost a typical Singaporean struggle story. He has been active in the medical and business fields for a long time, with many years of experience in medical institution operation and commercial institution capital operation management. The appointment of such officials as the Minister of Human Resources to lead the "empowerment" field is clearly a recognition by the fourth generation leadership of their rich management experience in the business sector, hoping that they can bring a new atmosphere to employment in Singapore.

As of May 2023, the field of "empowerment" has started to investigate the sources of career concerns among Singaporeans from both employers and employees. The prominent concerns of employees are maintaining the match between skills and job positions, balancing overseas job opportunities with family responsibilities, etc. Employers hope that the government can strengthen employment services and provide support for employers to improve recruitment and work environments. At present, the first step in the field of "empowerment" has been completed, with the launch of the "CareersFinder" platform supported by big data and artificial intelligence. In addition, the 2023 Singapore Government Budget also includes the Jobs Skills Integrator program for industry, training, and employment training. The National Trade Federation will also work with the government to redefine salary guidelines for various technical occupations, including clearer career and skill promotion standards, in order to better retain and reward workers.

After the economy and employment, education has become the next focus of cultivating talents that meet economic needs. Faced with issues such as low education accessibility, unequal distribution of educational resources, and a single educational model, "Forward Singapore" has proposed education and lifelong learning.

Similar to the "empowerment" field, the "equipment" field is also led by the head of the coordinating department, the Minister of Education, as the main person in charge, while the other two responsible persons are senior government ministers from the other four departments. This personnel arrangement is slightly different from the "empowerment" field, highlighting the leading position of the Ministry of Education in the "equipment" field (see Table 2).

表2 “装备”领域的具体目标、对接部门及负责人
领域	具体目标	对接部门	主要负责人	其他负责人
装备	1.为每个孩子提供拥有健全价值观和实现鼓励教育的家庭环境 2.提供多样化学习模式来培养能力水平较高的学生 3.根据学习者的强项和兴趣来提供多样化成功路径 4.关爱患有学习障碍的学生并建设包容性社会 5.鼓励全民在走出校门之后持续进行终身学习	教育部、人力资源部、国防部、通讯及信息部、国家发展部	教育部部长陈振声（Chan Chun Sing）	国防部兼人力资源部高级政务部长扎吉哈（Zaqy Mohamad）、通讯及信息部兼国家发展部高级政务部长陈杰豪（Tan Kiat How）
资料来源：“前进新加坡”专页，新加坡文社青部官方网站，https：//www.forwardsingapore. gov.sg/pillars/equip，last accessed by May 12，2023。

Table 2 Specific goals, coordinating departments, and responsible persons in the field of "equipment"

As of May 2023, certain achievements have been made in the field of "equipment". In terms of social mobility, assistance from schools and communities was provided to 1300 children from disadvantaged families through mechanisms such as the UPLIFT Community Network. In order to break down occupational discrimination and expand the traditional definition of success, the new government has revised the salary guidance standards in the field of social services, encouraging workers to choose non-traditional occupations other than white-collar workers. The Ministry of Education has implemented "Full Subject Based Banding" in secondary schools, which means that students have more opportunities to engage with technical and technical subjects. In 2024, the Singapore Ministry of Education will continue to "reduce the burden" on secondary school students, including canceling the mid-term exams for two-year and three-year preparatory colleges and replacing them with "pass/fail" grades; Starting from the 2026 academic year, the results of the fourth subject in the Singapore Advanced Level Examination (A-Level) will only be included in the calculation if it positively contributes to the University Admission Score; wait.

In addition to the fixed areas of economy and education that have been governed by previous Singaporean governments, the new demands of Singaporean society for healthcare services clearly require a response from the fourth generation leadership. The third area of "care" reflects the shift in the focus of Singapore's health sector's next stage of work from epidemic prevention to universal health.

The so-called 'care' refers to using health policies and assistance measures to alleviate the burden of elderly care and child rearing for Singaporeans, and to build Singapore into a society that creates suitable families.

As shown in Table 3, the Singapore Ministry of Health has started to address the health issues of Singaporeans entering the elderly society from a policy perspective, and combined with the cultivation of family values, comprehensively mobilized the efforts of multiple relevant departments to meet the needs of Singaporean families for health and social services.

表3 “关爱”领域的具体目标、对接部门及负责人
领域	具体目标	对接部门	主要负责人	其他负责人
关爱	1.从医疗卫生服务到全民健康，建设一个令新加坡人更长寿更健康的社会，充满信心地步入老龄化社会 2.从家长支持措施到坚定的家庭支持，建设一个重视家庭价值的活力社会，支持养育者并给每个孩子一个良好起点 3.从社会扶助到社会赋能，多方协作为有需要的家庭和个人提供帮助，为每个人提供进步的机会	卫生部、社会及家庭发展部、总理署、财政部及国家发展部	卫生部部长王乙康（Ong Ye Kung）	社会及家庭发展部部长、卫生部第二部长兼穆斯林事务部部长马善高（Masagos Zulkifli）、总理署部长、财政部及国家发展部第二部长英兰妮（Indranee Rajah）
资料来源：“前进新加坡”专页，新加坡文社青部官方网站，https：//www.forwardsingapore. gov.sg/pillars/care，last accessed by May 12，2023。

Table 3 Specific goals, coordinating departments, and responsible persons in the field of "care"

As of May 2023, some achievements have been made in the field of "care", including increasing government funding for young children in the 2023 Singapore Government Budget, specifically by increasing funding for the Baby Bonus Scheme and strengthening support for "government funded maternity leave" and "unpaid parental leave". The government, unions, and employers jointly discussed and formulated the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangements. At the same time, the "Care" working group also emphasized that the Singapore government will provide strong support for citizens who wish to get married and have children, calling on the whole society to work together to build a "Singapore for families". In addition, how children from disadvantaged families can achieve upward mobility through social services is also a work content in the field of "care". The existing ComLink working mechanism of the Ministry of Social and Family Development will continue to play a core role in providing care and building interpersonal connections for vulnerable communities more smoothly and effectively.

Compared with the main leaders in the fields of "empowerment" and "equipment", Wang Yikang has a slightly longer political career and his performance during the anti epidemic period has also received widespread praise from the outside world. On May 9, 2023, Wang Yikang said in his speech at the launch ceremony of the new book of Lianhe Zaobao that the key to Singapore's fight against the epidemic is to change thinking and social trust. The middle ground adopted by Singapore has not been easy along the way, reflecting the high level of trust that Singaporeans have in their government, system, and mutual relationships. How to maintain and even continue to enhance the trust of Singaporeans in the government's health policies in an aging Singaporean society, so that more Singaporeans are willing to get married and have children, and increase the birth rate, is the challenge faced by Wang Yikang and his team.

Singapore is a country with scarce resources, and housing and transportation issues are major issues that concern the vital interests of Singaporeans. "Forward Singapore" provides a "construction" solution. 'Construction' is the field that involves the most government departments among the six major areas of 'Forward Singapore', with up to 8, the largest number of responsible persons, and the highest level of officials, totaling 4 ministerial level officials (see Table 4). It can be seen that this field requires high levels of cross departmental collaboration and presents significant work difficulties.

Interestingly, the description of this field on the official website is the shortest. The policy background description of this field is as follows: "Everyone can contribute to building the Singapore we want to live in, through sharing and carefully utilizing our resources, so that both this and the next generation have sufficient resources to utilize. We aim to improve and transform our living environment, and build more inclusive and livable homes for all

表4 “建设”领域的具体目标、对接部门及负责人
领域	具体目标	对接部门	主要负责人	其他负责人
建设	1.让每个新加坡人都有更多机会拥有更绿色和更智能的居住环境来丰富自己的人生，在居住地周边拥有更多生活、工作和休闲选择 2.确保每个新加坡人都能够用合理的价格利用公共交通设施和购买住房，为老年人和弱势群体提供更多帮助 3.与本地企业合作建设更有活力、更包容、更宜居的环境	国家发展部、社会服务融合部、交通部、贸易关系部、通讯及信息部、智能国家及数码安全部、国务部、外交部	国家发展部部长兼社会服务整合事务主管部长李智陞（Desmond Lee）	交通部部长兼贸易关系主管部长易华仁（S. Iswaran）、通讯及信息部部长兼智能国家及数码安全主管部长杨莉明（Josephine Teo）、外交部兼国家发展部高级政务部长沈颖（Sim Ann）
资料来源：“前进新加坡”专页，新加坡文社青部官方网站，https：//www.forwardsingapore. gov.sg/pillars/build，last accessed by May 12，2023。

Table 4 Specific goals, coordinating departments, and responsible persons in the field of "construction"

It is not easy to achieve specific goals in the field of "construction". The "Construction" page of the official website of "Forward Singapore" has collected and sorted out some housing issues that are of concern to the public, and in the first article, it stated the public's demand for Singapore to continue to maintain its social attribute of "housing for all".

In response to the housing needs of Singaporeans of different age groups and at different stages of their lives, the "Construction" sector working group has also compiled the housing policies that have been implemented, including Build To Order flats (HDB) and their second-hand transactions, priority application rights for first-time homebuyers, additional lottery opportunities for first-time homebuyers and married young couples, the third phase of the Community Elderly Care Apartment Scheme, and Singapore Provident Fund housing loans of up to SGD 80000 for first-time homebuyers and single individuals to purchase second-hand apartments. How elderly people can retire peacefully in the community, how to make the living environment more friendly to the elderly, and how to maintain social interaction between the elderly and the community through volunteers have also been mentioned. According to public information, in 2023, the Ministry of National Development and the Housing and Development Authority of Singapore will build 23000 new government customized apartments.

In terms of transportation, the currently implemented "Walk Cycle Ride" priority mode will continue to be implemented, and road space will be reserved for pedestrians, public transportation, and active modes of transportation rather than private cars. The working group in the field of "construction" will pilot the "Friendly Streets" project to provide community residents with a more inclusive and feasible "walking cycling riding" priority transportation mode for travel.

Compared with the first three fields, the problems that need to be solved in the "construction" field are more systematic and complex, and its main leader, Li Zhisheng, is a younger member of the fourth generation leadership. Singapore is renowned for its extremely high homeownership rate, and the government's public housing policy is regarded as a model for solving housing problems worldwide. How to continue the existing policy dividends, meet the housing demand changes brought about by Singapore's demographic changes, and effectively improve the utilization rate of public transportation, represented by the young and middle-aged forces of the fourth generation leadership led by Li Zhisheng, is the report card that needs to be submitted for the next election cycle.

The fifth domain is relatively simple in expression among the six major domains, but it has the longest and widest time span and scope of involvement, mainly related to maintaining the sustainability of environmental and financial resources (see Table 5).

表5 “管家”领域的具体目标、对接部门及负责人
领域	具体目标	对接部门	主要负责人	其他负责人
管家	1.在代际气候变化代价中谋求平衡 2.应对和平衡潜在的交换条件 3.对共享资源扮演好管家角色	可持续发展及环境部、国会、财政部、交通部	可持续发展及环境部部长傅海燕（Grace Fu）	国会议长陈川仁（Tan Chuan-Jin）、交通部高级政务部长徐芳达（Chee Hong Tat）
注：傅海燕为上任文社青部部长，往年报告已做过介绍，本报告不再赘述。参见李婉珺《2020年新加坡、文莱文化发展报告》，载刘志强、谈笑主编《东盟文化发展报告（2021）》，社会科学文献出版社，2021，第60～74页。
资料来源：“前进新加坡”专页，新加坡文社青部官方网站，https：//www.forwardsingapore. gov.sg/pillars/steward，last accessed by May 12，2023。

Table 5 Specific goals, liaison departments, and responsible persons in the field of "butler"

At present, the "Steward" working group has launched some measures to promote environmental awareness, including providing recyclable shopping bags priced at SGD 5 in large supermarkets, and the Singapore government will increase the rating of infrastructure, information and communication facility contractors who meet environmental sustainability requirements by 5% in the 2023 fiscal year. In addition, energy efficiency bonuses and energy efficiency funds will be established for small and medium-sized enterprises that adopt environmentally friendly equipment. Compared with other fields, the cross departmental collaboration scale of projects in the "Stewardship" field is still relatively small, mainly driven by the Ministry of Sustainable Development and the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Finance advancing their work within their respective jurisdictions, and continuous attention is needed for future development.

The traditional scope of work of the Ministry of Culture, Social Security and Youth is mainly integrated into this field. In the background introduction, the policy objective of this field is expressed as that in a geopolitical landscape full of uncertainty and diversity, a steadfast, responsible, and mutually trusting group of people is the key to Singapore's survival and prosperity. We all need to play a role in building a better home, which can give us a stronger sense of belonging and enable us to stand firmly together to build a closer, more inclusive, and united society.

The specific goals, coordinating departments, and responsible persons in the field of "unity" are shown in Table 6.

表6 “团结”领域的具体目标、对接部门及负责人
领域	具体目标	对接部门	主要负责人	其他负责人
团结	1.增强新加坡人的归属感，强化彼此都是新加坡公民的认同感 2.无论种族、语言及宗教，增强公民之间的情感纽带，加深彼此间的信任 3.基于公正和平等，为彼此建设一个更好的社会，互相帮助，尤其乐于对有需要的人伸出援手，令社会的每个成员都能过上充实的生活	文社青部、总理署、教育部、外交部、通讯及信息部、卫生部	文社青部部长兼法务部第二部长唐振辉（Edwin Tong）	总理署部长兼教育部第二部长、外交部第二部长孟理齐（Maliki Osman）、通讯及信息部兼卫生部高级政务部长普杰立（Janil Puthucheary）
注：唐振辉的简历在2021年的报告中已做过介绍，本报告不再赘述。参见李婉珺《2021年新加坡、文莱文化发展报告》，载刘志强、谈笑主编《东盟文化发展报告（2022）》，社会科学文献出版社，2022，第56～79页。
资料来源：“前进新加坡”专页，新加坡文社青部官方网站，https：//www.forwardsingapore. gov.sg/pillars/unit，last accessed by May 12，2023。

Table 6 Specific goals, coordinating departments, and responsible persons in the field of "unity"

At present, the "Unity" page has listed "Our Singapore Heritage Plan 2.0", which is one of the work plans of the Ministry of Culture, Social Security and Youth in 2023, and indicates that the Singapore government will cooperate with various parties to hold more cultural festivals and exhibitions to deepen people's understanding of Singapore's multiculturalism.

As a concrete manifestation of the "unity" field, the Ministry of Culture, Social Security and Youth Affairs will continue to utilize existing mechanisms, such as the establishment of the 2023 Diversity Committee (COS 2023) under the "Kaya" plan, to collaborate with sports, artistic heritage, community solidarity, care and volunteer services, and youth affairs. Taking the fields of sports and artistic heritage as examples, the specific work content of the Youth Department of Culture and Social Security will be demonstrated.

The current plans listed in the sports field include: sports activity points worth SGD 100, fitness industry practitioner registration system, Singapore Sports Hall of Fame, 2026 Disability Sports Promotion Plan, etc.

The plans listed in the field of art heritage include: Our Singapore Art Plan (2023-2027), increasing schools, expanding access to art in healthcare and civic service facilities, diversifying art spaces, continuing to promote the digitalization of art and culture plan, application and promotion of artificial intelligence technology and metaverse data, development of professional standards in the arts, Our Singapore Heritage Plan 2.0, and restoration of national landmark heritage buildings.

From the policy objectives in the field of "unity" and the work plan of the Ministry of Culture, Social Security and Youth, it can be seen that the Ministry of Culture, Social Security and Youth will collaborate with multiple other departments on the basis of the existing work mechanism to jointly achieve the work objectives in the field of "unity". There are as many as six liaison departments in the field of "unity", second only to the field of "construction". This large-scale cross departmental collaboration model has not appeared in the past few years and can be seen as a major feature of 'Forward Singapore'.

In summary, "Advancing Singapore" as the main highlight of the Singapore government's work in 2022 can be seen as a major integration of existing policies and departmental divisions by the new incoming government leadership led by Huang Xuncai.

There have been no major changes to Brunei's cultural policy in 2022. Apart from the annual large-scale events such as National Day and December Cultural Festival held as usual, the highlights of cultural development this year mainly lie in external exchanges. The annual large-scale cultural events held according to tradition have been discussed in detail in previous reports. This report mainly focuses on two major events in Brunei's foreign exchanges in 2022: the exchange of visits between Brunei and Singapore during the year; Secondly, Brunei actively participates in the post pandemic economic recovery and construction of the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area.

July 15, 2022 is the 76th birthday of Sultan Bolkiah of Brunei. To celebrate the Sultan's birthday, Brunei held a two-week celebration throughout the country.

One of the main highlights of the celebration was Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's visit to Brunei with his wife Ho Jing. On July 14-16, 2022, Lee Hsien Loong visited Brunei with his wife and several ministerial level officials. Lee Hsien Loong himself was awarded the highest medal of the Brunei royal family by the Sultan of Brunei, while his wife Ho Jing was awarded the First Class Merit Medal. Lee Hsien Loong extended birthday congratulations to Bolkiah and reiterated the unique relationship between Singapore and Brunei, discussing ways for Singapore and Brunei to expand bilateral cooperation, including fostering close ties between the next generation of leaders.

On August 24-25, Brunei's Sultan Bolkiah returned to Singapore with his Sultan, Queen Saliha. Singapore's President Halimah hosted a banquet to entertain him, marking Bolkiah's fifth visit to Singapore during his tenure, with the last one being in 2017. During this visit, the two countries signed two memorandums of cooperation and two agreements. Two memorandums of cooperation: one is to promote cooperation between the two countries in emerging technologies such as solar energy to achieve climate goals and low-carbon economic growth, and the other is to strengthen trade and investment in food and pharmaceutical products; The two agreements signed are arrangements for the exchange of students and civil servants. Xinfang rewarded Wenfang with honors and returned the favor by naming a newly cultivated dendrobium after Borkia and his wife, "Dendrobium Hassanal Saleha".

It is worth noting that Huang Xuncai made a two-day official visit to Brunei on January 18-19, 2023, accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance, and Minister of Communications and Information. This is Huang Xuncai's first visit during his term, which can be seen as a visit to Brunei's leaders as the incoming Prime Minister, preparing for his future succession. After Huang Xuncai takes over, he should follow the original trajectory and continue to maintain close cooperation in regional affairs.

（2） Brunei actively participates in the post pandemic economic recovery of the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area

The Brunei Darussalam Indonesia Malaysia Philippines East Asian Growth Area, also known as the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area. Established in 1994 at the initiative of the heads of government of the four countries mentioned above, it aims to promote the development of underdeveloped areas in the region, facilitate the transformation of resource consuming economic activities towards high-level and high value-added production, focus on the application of clean and green energy in industrial production, enhance economic growth rates, and achieve regional economic integration.

Specifically, the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area covers the entire territory of Brunei, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, and West Papua provinces in Indonesia, Sabah, Sarawak, and the Federal Territory of Labuan in Malaysia, as well as Maguindanao and Palawan provinces in the Philippines. These regions are far from the capitals of the four aforementioned countries, but geographically adjacent to each other. The ASEAN Eastern Growth Zone accounts for over 60% of the total land area of the four countries, but its population is less than 20% and its labor force is less than 18%.

The purpose of establishing the ASEAN Eastern Growth Zone is to open up new sea and air routes, connect with the power grid, facilitate smooth flow of trade activities, investment funds, and tourists within the region, and promote cooperation among the four countries in five areas: agricultural economy, environmental protection, tourism, environmental protection industry, and social education.

Brunei, as the only country whose entire territory falls within the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area, attaches great importance to the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area. The official website of Brunei's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a dedicated page introducing the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area, listing the working groups led by each of the four member countries in five areas of the growth area (see Table 7).

表7 文莱外交部对当前东盟东部增长区成员国在各领域的工作小组分工的具体表述

表7 文莱外交部对当前东盟东部增长区成员国在各领域的工作小组分工的具体表述
领域	工作小组	领导国家
交通、基础设施、信息通信科技发展	空中航线海上航线建设及建设材料信息通信科技	文莱
自然资源发展	农业渔业合作林业与环保能源	印度尼西亚
旅游业协同发展	旅游业协同发展	马来西亚
中小企业发展	资本整合	菲律宾
海关、移民、隔离、安保	海关、移民、隔离、安保（任务武装）	菲律宾
资料来源：Ministry of Foreign Affairs Brunei Darussalam，BIMP-EAGA，Key Areas of Cooperation，https：//www.mfa.gov.bn/SitePages/The%20Brunei%20Darussalam，%20Indonesia，%20Malaysia%20and%20the%20Philippines%20%E2%80%93%20East%20ASEAN%20Growth%20Area%20（BIMP-EAGA）.aspx，last accessed by May 2，2023。

Table 7 Specific expression by Brunei's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the division of labor among the working groups of ASEAN Eastern Growth Area member countries in various fields

Brunei plays an important role in the ASEAN Eastern Growth Zone, particularly in the areas of transportation, infrastructure, and information and communication technology development, and is actively becoming a leading force. In 2022, Brunei also actively participated in the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area Ministerial Meeting.

The 25th ASEAN Eastern Growth Area Ministerial Meeting was held in Kundian, West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia from November 23 to 26, 2022. During the conference, multiple high-level meetings and large-scale exhibitions were held, including meetings of the Four Countries Secretariat Committee, the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area General Chamber of Commerce, the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area Senior Officials Meeting, the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area and Development Cooperation Partners Meeting, the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area Executive Heads Meeting, and the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area Member States Ministers Meeting.

The largest port, shipping, and transportation logistics industry exhibition and conference of the year will be held simultaneously at Wenyin Mafei. Major port enterprises and institutions in the region, such as the Port Klang Group in Malaysia, participated in this exhibition.

On November 26th, the meeting concluded and Wen Yin Ma Fei issued a joint ministerial statement. The statement pointed out that the four countries are pleased with the growth rate of 2.4% in the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area in 2021. Although slightly lower than the 3.3% in 2020, it can be seen as a clear signal of recovery in the context of uncertain global and regional situations. At present, the gross domestic product of the ASEAN Eastern Growth Zone is around 359.7 billion US dollars, the value of traded goods has increased by 27.5 billion US dollars, and foreign direct investment has also increased by about 1 million US dollars, but there is still room for improvement in local investment. Although the tourism industry has been the hardest hit by the pandemic, the decline in tourists in the first 11 months of 2022 has narrowed from 40.1% in 2021 to 36%, and is expected to continue to narrow after travel restrictions are lifted.

The joint statement of the four countries also pointed out that they look forward to leveraging the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area as a strategic cornerstone for ASEAN integration and community building, and further cooperating with ASEAN member states to enhance the two-way coordination level of the communication mechanism between the ASEAN Secretariat and the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area. The four countries look forward to seeing member countries in the sub region strengthen communication and coordination between ASEAN and the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area in strategic areas such as tourism promotion, industries, and systems.

The convening of the 25th ASEAN Eastern Growth Area Ministerial Meeting indicates that the four countries of Brunei, India, Malaysia, and the Philippines all hope to enhance cooperation in the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area, seek breakthroughs in their relatively underdeveloped economies, drive economic growth, and promote regional economic integration.

China has actually been participating in the construction of the ASEAN Eastern Growth Zone since 2005. Over the past 17 years, the cooperation between the two sides has been smooth and fruitful.

In 2005, China became a development partner of the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area, and the following year, the two sides established a high-level officials' meeting mechanism. In 2009, the Economic Cooperation Framework between the Chinese Government and the Governments of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines was signed. In 2018, the first China ASEAN Eastern Growth Area Cooperation Ministerial Meeting was held in Brunei, and the "China ASEAN Eastern Growth Area Cooperation Concept Paper" was adopted. In 2019, the two sides held their second ministerial meeting and formulated the "China ASEAN Eastern Growth Area Cooperation Action Plan (2020-2025)", which decided to focus on nine priority areas of cooperation: connectivity, agriculture, fishery processing and food industries, tourism and socio-cultural exchanges, trade and investment, digital economy, poverty reduction and inclusive development, human resources development, environment, electricity and energy.

Prior to the 2022 ASEAN Eastern Growth Area Ministerial Meeting, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had repeatedly expressed support for the development of the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area and hoped to increase China's investment in the region. On August 4, 2022, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a position paper on China's support for the central position of ASEAN. The document points out that China supports ASEAN in promoting the formulation of the ASEAN Community 2025 Vision and ASEAN Integration Initiative, and will increase investment in Lancang Mekong Cooperation and China ASEAN Eastern Growth Area Cooperation to help narrow regional development gaps. On November 11, 2022, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang reiterated a similar position in his speech at the 25th China ASEAN Leaders' Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. China welcomes the agreement reached between the two sides on the China ASEAN Technical Cooperation Agreement and is willing to continue to increase investment in the Lancang Mekong Cooperation and China ASEAN Eastern Growth Area cooperation, helping ASEAN narrow the development gap.

The construction of the Guangxi Brunei Economic Corridor has become a driving force for the development of the China ASEAN Eastern Growth Zone. Through scientific management and investment, the Mora Port managed by Brunei Mora Port Limited, established by both Chinese parties, has become one of the most efficient ports in the ASEAN Eastern Growth Zone. Its operating revenue doubled in 2022 compared to 2017, becoming a new economic growth point.

2022 is a year with foreign exchanges as the main focus for Brunei's cultural development. After experiencing the impact of the epidemic, Brunei has strengthened its bilateral relations with Singapore and actively participated in multilateral cooperation among other members of the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area. While further maintaining its position in the geopolitical landscape of Southeast Asia, it has also actively engaged in economic cooperation with countries outside Southeast Asia, including China, to accumulate favorable conditions for economic recovery after the epidemic and increase cultural exchanges with foreign countries. It remains to be observed how Brunei will play its role in the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area through external exchanges in 2023.

In 2022, the People's Action Party of Singapore completed its election and the fourth generation of leadership emerged. The introduction of the "Forward Singapore" policy represents that the new generation of Singapore government leadership, represented by Huang Xuncai, is working to integrate existing policies and departmental divisions. The results are gradually becoming apparent, and the policy report card submitted in the second half of 2023 deserves continued attention. Brunei has actively engaged in foreign exchanges after the pandemic. In addition to maintaining close ties with Singapore's leaders and existing cultural policies, it has shown a more proactive attitude in regional affairs, especially in the economic recovery of the ASEAN Eastern Growth Area. The cultures of Singapore and Brunei are expected to experience significant development in 2023, and the author will continue to pay attention to it in future research.