Courtesy: Bernama
The 46th ASEAN Summit led by Malaysia in the chair, concluded in May. Malaysia is one of the founding members of the ASEAN, and is fully cognisant of its prolonged challenges, but as chair it has not addressed the issues. It raises questions on whether the stated deliverable of “inclusivity and sustainability” is merely a diversion from the country’s weakening leadership in the region.
Courtesy: Kuwait Times
The 56th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Jakarta reflected the grouping’s resilience amidst transformative geopolitical changes in the Indo-Pacific. Striving for unity and centrality, ASEAN tackled challenges posed by COVID-19, economic slowdown, climate change, and U.S.-China competition. However, internal differences on sensitive issues like Myanmar have tested its credibility.
Amidst myriad country groupings that already exist – BRICS, IBSA, APEC, SCO and many others – a new initiative in the Pacific is looking to integrate more powerful countries to form a multilateral free trade agreement – the Trans Pacific Partnership. How important is this towards the reshaping of trade and power?