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Calls for institutional reform grow in response to ASEAN 2045 plan
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Navigating global instability: The logo of ASEAN is seen on May 15 in front of Malaysia's Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur. Southeast Asian leaders are expected to express their deep concern over United States President Donald Trump's tariff blitz when they meet at a summit on May 26, warning that the unilateral move posed huge challenges to economic growth and stability in the region, according to a draft statement seen by AFP. (AFP/Mohd Rasfan)
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SEAN has set its sights on strengthening economic cooperation in an attempt to navigate regional security challenges, though analysts warn that such ambitions may fall short without meaningful institutional reform.
At the summit in Kuala Lumpur last week, Southeast Asian leaders convened to discuss the region's most pressing issues, while also unveiling the long-anticipated ASEAN Community Vision 2045, a blueprint outlining the group’s goals for deeper integration, resilience and global relevance over the next two decades.
The blueprint’s conception was first introduced by Indonesia in 2023 during its ASEAN chairmanship, after which leaders began drafting the long-term roadmap widely hoped to offer clarity and direction for a region increasingly strained by great power rivalry, as well as ongoing efforts to strengthen internal unity.
The final 155-page document highlighted plans that included boosting economic integration and its global competitiveness, institutional strengthening and sustainable development.
Among its most spotlighted plans was the call to create greater financial integration across the region, including by harmonizing trade standards. Malaysia, leading the bloc this year, has previously expressed that it would focus on strengthening economic cooperation, with its officials having referenced the European Union as the best example in how a multilateral regional grouping could facilitate cross-border economic cooperation.
Geo-economic shockwaves sent by Washington’s recent trade tariff policies have further fueled the bloc’s ambitions to boost intra-ASEAN trade.
By 2045, ASEAN would be a “major player in the global economy and the fourth largest economy in the world”, the blueprint said, by being a “seamlessly integrated single market and production center with a significant increase in intra-ASEAN trade and investment”.
