Opinion | How Asean centrality and strong China ties can go hand in hand

On February 17, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that his country would host an inaugural summit in May between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), providing a forum for the Western Pacific’s vibrant economies and the Gulf’s major energy producers to collectively navigate economic challenges.

With Malaysia formally taking over the annual rotating Asean chairmanship, observers have questioned its ability to effectively address two of the region’s most critical security challenges: the South China Sea and Myanmar. Yet, even though a breakthrough on either of these two issues is unlikely, Malaysia’s chairmanship can still help to position Asean more favourably in the transition to a multipolar Indo-Pacific region.

Malaysia’s foreign policy stance is one of non-alignment, meaning it will not side with a major power engaged in a geopolitical contest but will hedge against uncertainty by forging partnerships based on its best interests. A founding member of Asean, Malaysia is also a member of the Indian Ocean Rim Association and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, among other groupings.

Therefore, as Asean chair, Malaysia can leverage its position and foreign policy vision to deepen Asean’s engagements beyond traditional partnerships. This will elevate the bloc’s relevance on the world stage and create new linkages with other regional groups to broaden the scope of Asean centrality.

As early as last November, Anwar had noted that it was important for China to be included in the summit to narrow the economic gap between Eastern and Western countries.