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View all search resultsASEAN at 60: Why the region needs a visionary secretary-general
ASEAN needs a secretary-general that can act as both secretary and general - someone capable of convening difficult conversations, anticipating emerging conflicts and articulating a compelling vision for ASEAN’s role in the world.
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The ASEAN secretariat building in Jakarta was inaugurated in August 2019 in conjunction with the 52nd anniversary of ASEAN. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
A
s ASEAN approaches its sixth decade, the region finds itself at a crossroads. The world that shaped ASEAN’s founding in 1967 no longer exists. Yet the institution built during that era now sits at the center of one of the most consequential geopolitical arenas of the 21st century.
Southeast Asia is no longer merely a cluster of developing states navigating post-colonial transitions. It is a region of more than 700 million people, one of the fastest-growing economic zones in the world and a strategic maritime crossroads connecting the Indian and Pacific Oceans. In many ways, ASEAN has quietly evolved into what might be described as a proto–great power.
But potential alone does not guarantee relevance.
Today the region faces an intensifying strategic rivalry between the United States and China, escalating maritime tensions in the South China Sea, growing climate threats and rapid technological disruption driven by artificial intelligence and digital transformation. These pressures will shape Southeast Asia’s stability over the next 30 to 40 years.
In this new environment, ASEAN’s traditional diplomatic habits - consensus, quiet consultation and the much-invoked “ASEAN Way” - may no longer be sufficient on their own. The region needs stronger institutional capacity and more strategic leadership if it is to navigate an increasingly turbulent world.
One starting point lies in strengthening the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta.
For most of its history, the secretariat has functioned largely as an administrative body coordinating meetings and implementing decisions made by member states. This structure made sense when ASEAN’s main objective was confidence-building among neighbors who were still learning to trust one another.
