David Cameron seeks markets in South-East Asia

“WHEN I visited [South-East Asia] three years ago, it was the 12th-largest economy in the world,” said David Cameron, Britain’s prime minister, from a stage at the National University of Singapore on July 28th. “Now it’s the seventh, and it’s predicted to be the fourth-largest single market by 2030.” Longtime South-East Asia watchers may struggle to suppress a cynical smile at Mr Cameron’s mention of a “single market”: making the ten-country Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) into a single market is one of those political goals that has been just around the corner for years. But the fundamental point is true enough. ASEAN is a large and growing market, with which Britain does surprisingly little business. Mr Cameron noted that Britain trades more with Belgium than it does with the four countries on his itinerary (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam) combined.

He has come partly to talk up British business. Accompanying him are the business secretary, Sajid Javid, and representatives of British firms such as Aviva, an insurance company, Lloyd’s, a marketplace for insurance, and Balfour Beatty, a construction firm. He finds himself on comfortable ground: two of his destinations, Singapore and Malaysia, were once British colonies and, as Mr Cameron noted to laughter, the region is home to more Manchester United supporters than there are people in Britain. But the trip has a geopolitical purpose as well: to discuss terrorism and the threat of Islamic State (IS) in Indonesia and Malaysia, two Muslim-majority countries on edge about the danger posed by domestic IS supporters and returning fighters.