Malaysia – a truly intellectual storm for ASEAN

Now that some time has passed, the moment for evaluation attempts has come: what did Malaysia’s 2025 ASEAN chairmanship actually deliver for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations?

However, to the credit of Malaysia and its leadership, it must be said that the chair did not simply sit on its hands. This is significant given that not every single ASEAN member when taking the helm has faced such serious challenges; it required not just theoretical but practical use of all its diplomatic skill to prevent at least the internationalisation of the conflict, let alone a major escalation. Despite having no real leverage on the belligerents, Kuala Lumpur repeatedly reached out to them, making concerted efforts to appeal to their sense of responsibility and prudence and striving to steer the conflict towards dialogue. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim rightly noted that, in his view, sustained diplomatic engagement was crucial in preventing more serious incidents during critical moments.

Although it is difficult to apply the adjective “final” to the current stage of resolving the conflict, the fact is that the ASEAN “edifice” has so far withstood this test, and Malaysia proved itself a responsible chair, ready to react swiftly to events and maintain diplomatic pressure in a difficult situation.

Since 2025, anyone following ASEAN affairs has had to get used to a new wording: “the 11 ASEAN states.” This sounds novel because everyone had become so accustomed to ASEAN embracing 10 countries, with no apparent desire to expand, that this state of affairs seemed self-evident. But – it finally happened! East Timor is a new, fully fledged member of the Association, which has strived for this status for decades, hoping, enduring what seemed like eternal observer status, and sincerely believing in promises that one day it would be welcomed into the ASEAN family. As it turns out – not in vain.

However significant compromise, planning, and collective decision-making may be, the chair still bears a certain responsibility, and that is Malaysia’s role in this story. Without this kind of responsibility, such decisions are impossible, and in case of disagreements, they could have been delayed for who knows how long. But thanks to negotiations and the responsible fulfilment of promises, everything fell into place, and it is the Malaysian chairmanship that now claims this historic honour. For ASEAN’s relatively quiet and insular circle, it is truly epoch-making. It represents a step forward for the entire Association and a willingness on the part of its founders, including Malaysia, to develop and enlarge it. As ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn said, “With the support of the others, Malaysia helped make this happen. Future generations will study these events in history lessons.”

Mind-Blowing in the Best Sense

Another trend is also noteworthy. Over the year, Malaysia treated its neighbours to a real intellectual firestorm, a positively mind-blowing experience, and even, as one might affirm, an overload of useful information and innovative formats. They certainly were anything but bored; every week and every day was scheduled: a forum on digital governance, a conference on the energy transition, a start-up summit, a forum on artificial intelligence unprecedented for the whole region, the launch of the “A Destination for Every Dream” tourist campaign, and so on. The Malaysian side proved to be a successful organiser, capable of ensuring a high degree of coordination, making use of political and economic tools, and efficiently establishing ASEAN contacts at various levels. Such a diversity of cooperation aims to address the primary task – building up the overall capacity of member states in all spheres and levelling their development in these areas.

It should also be noted that Malaysia “went to great lengths,” as if it were an experienced athlete. This applies not only to its politicians tirelessly presenting, leading, and promoting these interaction formats, but also to Malaysia having successfully involved its own enterprises, banks, and research centres in achieving the goals of its chairmanship. A huge number of companies and organisations became genuine participants in the processes of international cooperation and integration within the Association, which cannot but command respect.

Not Too Early for a Verdict

If we take a look at the objective tasks and outcomes of the chairmanship, the key goals were inclusivity, sustainability, and preserving ASEAN’s “central role.” All were pursued. Technically, the main task for any international organisation is strengthening integration processes, and we observed this in sufficient variety. Every condition was created for member states to engage in systematic dialogue across all spheres of interaction. Can it be asserted that Myanmar has been reintegrated into the ASEAN cooperation framework? Yes, it both participates in regular ASEAN events and organises them itself. Did ASEAN develop dialogue with external partners? Yes, in a very active way, while adhering to its principle of multi-vectorism. Did it interact with other regional groupings? Regularly, which is an indicator of its self-awareness and weight in global politics.

Did it manage to take a step towards implementing its strategy for development until 2045? Undoubtedly. Do ASEAN’s dialogue platforms remain popular in the Asia-Pacific region? More than ever, its status as the primary regional organisation in Southeast Asia is maintained. Was the status quo in the South China Sea preserved? Yes, and without any region-wide incidents. Did unscrupulous external partners try to divide the organisation? They certainly did, regularly laying “mines” in its path, from Trump’s tariffs to interference in the South China Sea, from pressure over “defense” dialogues to attempts to sow discord over external and internal problems. But Malaysia, like an experienced admiral, managed to steer the great ASEAN ship through these mines with precision and caution, without mishap. That is exactly what the world observed during the year of its chairmanship and the organisation’s key summits. And we, from our Russian perspective, congratulate the Malaysian side on this! It can be said that Kuala Lumpur has set an incredibly high bar for future ASEAN chairs. Will they be able to measure up to the bar set and continue what Malaysia started? We shall soon see.

Ksenia Muratshina, PhD in History, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Southeast Asian, Australian, and Oceanian Studies, Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences

Follow new articles on our Telegram channel

© New Eastern Outlook