ASEAN and Indo-Pacific take centre stage at upcoming summit
ASEAN and middle powers are being sought for leadership, stability, and cooperation as global systems stall and geopolitical risks rise.
The upcoming 47th ASEAN Summit is set to be a critical moment in reshaping the Indo-Pacific's role in the evolving global order. This year, it is scheduled to take place from October 25 to 28.
The Indo-Pacific region is home to the world’s major powers, including the United States, China, India, Japan, and Russia, and houses nearly two-thirds of the global population. It is rapidly becoming the geopolitical axis of the 21st century.
The region accounts for 62% of global GDP and facilitates nearly half of all international trade, anchored by strategic maritime chokepoints such as the South China Sea, the Strait of Malacca, and crucial routes across the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
As the world transitions into a multipolar era, the centre of gravity is shifting eastward, with trade, technology, energy, security, and supply chains increasingly converging on the Indo-Pacific.
However, with competition between the US and China intensifying, the risks of great-power clashes, political and economic fragmentation, and proxy confrontations are on the rise.
ASEAN’s role in a divided world
ASEAN’s unique convening power allows it to act as a neutral, honest broker, Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan stated at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in September. He highlighted that ASEAN “did not stand idle” when regional conflicts threatened stability.
“The South China Sea must not be used as leverage for strategic competition. Southeast Asia and its waters become a theatre for rivalry between superpowers,” he said, stressing Southeast Asia’s right to determine its own destiny.
The upcoming ASEAN Summit takes place amidst waning trust in global institutions, with regional mechanisms increasingly tasked with filling gaps left by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the UN Security Council.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, in an interview with Malaysia-based media outlet Free Malaysia Today (FMT), stressed that smaller nations like New Zealand and Malaysia cannot afford to be passive as geopolitical competition intensifies.
“Our future really lies in the Indo-Pacific region. The international rules-based system, which has served the ASEAN countries incredibly well over the last 70 or 80 years, is breaking down. What we're seeing increasingly is that might and power matter more than rules,” he told FMT.
“I think, absolutely, there's a huge opportunity for us to reaffirm the rules-based system.”
Luxon further stated that ASEAN, the European Union, and trade blocs such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) have a crucial role to play in shaping cooperation amid growing pressures in global markets.
A summit to shape a shifting order
The upcoming ASEAN Summit will bring together major global powers, including US President Donald Trump, China’s Premier Li Qiang, and Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, alongside representatives from all five BRICS and BRICS+ member nations.
Despite facing pressures in recent years, ASEAN’s model of regionalism remains one of the few platforms where rival major powers continue to engage. Chaired by Malaysia, this year’s summit is held under the theme “Inclusivity and Sustainability.”
With a focus on tangible outcomes, the summit will prioritise key initiatives such as the ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-China Summit, the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, the ASEAN Geoeconomics Task Force, and the Digital Economy Framework Agreement.
Additionally, Timor-Leste will be joining the ASEAN Summit for the first time, further expanding the region's influence.
Asha Hemrajani from Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies spoke to FMT about the region’s economic potential: “ASEAN’s collective digital economies could reach US$1–2 trillion (approximately 65.53 trillion baht) once the Digital Economy Framework Agreement is finalised,” she said.
Meanwhile, ASEAN Business Advisory Council head Nazir Razak stressed the urgency of the moment: “As the new world order takes shape, how we behave in the next few years is more important than ever,” he said.
Malaysia’s role, ASEAN’s opportunity
For Malaysia, hosting the 47th ASEAN Summit is not just about chairing the bloc; it’s about helping to ensure the Indo-Pacific's cohesion amid global turbulence. ASEAN remains the key platform where rival powers engage, and the larger Indo-Pacific region is where the rules, or lack thereof, will ultimately shape long-term outcomes.
While the summit is unlikely to overhaul global governance, it will serve as a crucial test of ASEAN’s ability to convene, coordinate, and de-risk in a period of global uncertainty. In a region where the stakes are high, the bloc's capacity to maintain cooperation has never been more critical.
