GEOPOLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin, in a press briefing on Tuesday, outlined several key areas he will be discussing with his ASEAN counterparts amid the changing geopolitical landscape.
These include understanding the impact of artificial intelligence on regional security, advancing the region’s defence supply chain, and establishing a humanitarian relief taskforce to tackle natural disasters due to climate change.
Malaysia is the chair of ASEAN this year.
On maritime security, Mr Khaled warned against military built up in the region, and urged countries with overlapping claims to resolve their disputes through diplomatic channels.
“As for challenges of South China Sea, there is a need for all of us to ensure freedom of navigation, observe international law and try to not make this area as a place of contestation of superpowers,” he added.
Southeast Asia faces many challenges, especially with tensions rising between China and the United States, said observers.
Member states have found themselves pulled in different directions, complicating efforts to reach consensus on geopolitical matters.
Earlier this month, Mr Khaled said ASEAN centrality “is very important”, especially in the South China Sea, referring to the principle that the bloc should maintain a leading role in regional cooperation and diplomacy.
This is the only way “we will be able to face whatever challenges that are coming to this region and also the rest of the world”, he added.
The world is in “a very extraordinary period of developments” with ongoing conflicts, and how some alliances are breaking down while new ones are coming up, said Ms Sharon Seah, coordinator of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s ASEAN Studies Centre.
Southeast Asia, for instance, has to manage its relationship with the US under the unpredictable Trump administration.
“I think a very realistic and pragmatic assessment needs to be done,” Ms Seah told CNA938.
