Is Asean now a new ‘balancing wheel’?

Last week's Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting reflects its continued relevance in an increasingly unstable world. Amid US unilateralism and US President Donald Trump's tariff nationalism, Asean has reasserted itself as a balancing wheel —a stabilising force on which its dialogue partners can still depend.

- Kavi Chongkittavorn

The Asean chair has done a good job in further strengthening its centrality and augmenting its convening power. Friends and foes from the dialogue partner circle intermingled in camaraderie without fear, as Asean offers a neutral platform.

As a trusted partner, Asean has remained levelheaded and pragmatic, engaging all major powers, big and small, at bilateral, regional, and global levels.

The 58th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kuala Lumpur was held against the backdrop of one of the most polarised periods in global politics. A new conflict in the Middle East has further stoked the potential for nuclear escalation.

However, a more immediate and real war is taking place globally through tariffs, sanctions and trade barriers. Washington’s to-and-fro tariff highs have become one of the most destabilising factors in the international trading system. Asean is ready to manage this growing, difficult economic security.

With Aug | set for new levies, Asean export-oriented economies are bracing for impact. The US remains one of the bloc’s most important markets, particularly for export-heavy economies like Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand.

Ironically, the latest tariff controversy temporarily eclipsed Myanmar’s ongoing crisis on the Asean agenda. With all eyes on Washington’s trade offensive, Myanmar found its opposition to Timor-Leste’s Asean membership quietly brushed aside.

Yet Myanmar itself was not spared as the junta is among the countries facing a 40% tariff on selected exports to the US. Under the current chair, Asean remains focused on Myanmar.

The bloc will dispatch its ministerial representatives, comprising Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, to Nay Pyi Taw to enforce the Asean Five-Point Consensus (5PC) and assess the humanitarian situation.

Here are five key pivotal takeaways.