INDIA-ASEAN: NECESSARY PARTNERSHIP AMIDST A FRAGMENTED GLOBAL ORDER

ASEAN's shifting dynamics highlight India's growing role in restoring regional equilibrium.

- GAUTAM KUMAR JHA

A new phase of fragmented power consolidation is unfolding in the global order, catalysed by the United States' tariff war with several European and middle powers - a trend distinctly reflected in the recent ASEAN Summit held from 26 to 28 October 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The ASEAN member countries were upbeat in echoing their consensus and success, that highlighted their ever-growing internal activity. However, beneath optimism lies a quiet unease undercurrentthe sense that the global equilibrium is shifting faster than the region can adapt.

The political consolidation of Gen Z in Bangladesh and Nepal raises an alarm, as manipulation of certain political tools seemed rather easy with the uncertain outcomes. It offers neither stable governance nor a genuinely democratic or populist alternative, reflecting a broader reshuffling of established democracies often aimed at destabilising India's neighbourhood. Such developments, widely viewed as externally influenced, have deepened public cynicism and global unease over the erosion of democratic autonomy. In this uncertain climate, the search for reliable and balanced partners has grown urgent a role India increasingly seeks to fulfil.

Trump's renewed tariff games, targeting friends and rivals, clearly indicate a more destabilised world order. The uncertainty in Bangladesh and the sudden shedding of bonhomie towards an unstable Pakistan also do not reflect the region's political stability well. The evolution of the modern construct of the “Indo-Pacific” — once seen as a counterbalance to China's rising influence and belligerence - does not seem to be gaining the traction it once promised.