Malaysia will officially take over the chairmanship of ASEAN on 1 January 2025. The country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dato’ Seri Utama Haji Mohamad bin Haji Hasan stated that Malaysia is committed to bolstering regional peace, stability, and prosperity.
Malaysia’s ASEAN chairmanship will focus on inclusivity and sustainability, making them applied to regional community building efforts. Previously, Malaysia chaired ASEAN in 1977, 1997, 2005, and 2015.
Here are three main challenges ASEAN under Malaysia must deal with in 2025:
The Myanmar Crisis
The political turmoil in Myanmar-triggered by the military coup in 2021 due to accusation of vote rigging by rights activist Aung San Suu Kyi—has tested ASEAN’s resilience and cohesion. ASEAN has faced criticism over how to handle the crisis as the bloc’s members have been divided in responding to the situation.
Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore urged the dialogue while Thailand and Laos considered Myanmar’s political tension was its internal affair. The Five-Point consensus failed to restore peace and stability.
Malaysia, as the upcoming ASEAN chair, can initiate a dialogue involving a smaller coalition of concerned ASEAN countries to push for peace process.
Trump’s trade policy
As the slogan”Make America great again’is back, ASEAN must prepare to deal with import duty the next U.S President Donald Trump will impose given that the 78-year-old billionaire will likely slap tariffs more aggressively than in his previous term.
The Trump’s tariff will severely impact those heavily dependent on exports to the U.S such as Vietnam. Therefore, ASEAN can reduce their dependence on the U.S market by diversifying trading partners.
In addition to that, ASEAN can strengthen trade initiative within the bloc such as like the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Climate change
As Malaysia’s focus for ASEAN chairmanship is sustainability, climate change must be one of the main issues ASEAN must address.
According to The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Southeast Asia is one of the regions prone to climate change due to the location near the equator and low-lying areas as well as heavy dependence on fossil fuel for energy needs.
Hence, cooperation to promote renewable energy and joint disaster mitigation effort can reduce the impact of climate change.
