Malaysia's ASEAN chairmanship 2025: Strengthening regionalism, inter-regionalism and Global South mobilisation

Author : Yanitha Meena Louis

Expert Speak: Raisina Debates

Published on: Mar 17, 2025

 

Malaysia’s 2025 ASEAN chairmanship comes at a critical juncture, as it seeks to strengthen regionalism, inter-regional ties, and Global South cooperation

Three months into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Chairmanship, Malaysia is operating in a more precarious geopolitical environment than ever before. A new United States (US) administration has taken it upon itself to single-handedly ‘shake up’ the already dynamic status quo with the promise and pressure of tariffs and a vastly different approach to the Russia-Ukraine crisis from the former Biden administration—both of which have thrown a wrench in transatlantic ties. Reverberations of these geopolitical events can now be felt in the Indo-Pacific, with ASEAN and its member states on high alert for a possible upending of somewhat stable ties with the West.

 

For full article, please open the link:

https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/malaysia-s-asean-chairmanship-2025-strengthening-regionalism-inter-regionalism-and-global-south-mobilisation

 

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The opinions expressed in this article are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position or view of IRSEA