Letters | Asean’s vaunted neutrality is pushing it towards irrelevance

Readers discuss Asean’s unmet need for regional security, the unconvincing justification for culling wild kangaroos, and the better way to denuclearise North Korea than sanctions

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo (centre) speaks at a press conference at the 42nd Asean Summit in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, on May 11. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 11:30am, 4 Jun 2023

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The 42nd Asean Summit in Indonesia last month showed the bloc standing at the crossroads. Myanmar’s roiling political crisis, unchecked tensions in the South China Sea, and the futile efforts of Asean’s conflict prevention mechanisms exposed the grouping’s growing irrelevance.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations was born out of a common fear of communism and external threat. Today, its capacity to collectively stand up to external threats is admittedly limited.

Historically, regional cohesiveness has been held together by trade and a shared need for security assurances. Asean provides the platform for a mix of governance systems, from the authoritarian to the democratic. As such, the bloc adopts the principle of non-interference and seeks consensus in decision-making. This has weakened its effectiveness and thus impact on regional security.

The bloc remains trapped by its own demand for neutrality, playing to both sides in a major-power competition while hoping for their self-restraint.

The West sees Asean as a lost cause in standing up to China, while China wants Asean to maintain its status quo of neutrality, which would mean more space to manoeuvre for China.