Key Points
- Summit seen as ASEAN’s most significant gathering in recent years.
- World leaders from US, China, Japan, Korea, Brazil attending.
- PM Anwar Ibrahim chairs summit, seeks balance between global powers.
- Trump’s rare attendance adds symbolism and potential distraction.
- Cambodia–Thailand border conflict peace declaration on Trump’s agenda.
- ASEAN revisits faltering Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar crisis.
- South China Sea tensions remain unresolved among member states.
- Cybercrime, Gaza conflict also high on summit’s agenda.
ISLAMABAD: Malaysia is set to host what The Diplomat calls one of the most significant summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in recent years, as leaders gather from October 26–28 amid growing geopolitical competition and regional crises.
The 47th ASEAN Summit will not only welcome world leaders from the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, and Brazil but also mark the expected admission of Timor-Leste as the bloc’s 11th member — its first expansion since 1999.
According to The Diplomat, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, holding ASEAN’s rotating chair for 2025, sees the gathering as a moment to showcase both ASEAN’s diplomatic weight and Malaysia’s balancing role between global powers. The summit’s agenda spans multiple flashpoints: the ongoing civil war in Myanmar, South China Sea tensions, the US–China rivalry, cybercrime, and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The focus is on US President Donald Trump’s decision to attend, a rare move for him. His visit, confirmed only days before the summit, is seen as a symbolic victory for Anwar but also a potential distraction. The Diplomat reports that Trump’s interest appears to focus less on ASEAN’s collective agenda and more on presiding over a hastily arranged peace declaration between Cambodia and Thailand, following their deadly border conflict earlier this year.
Analysts quoted by the publication suggest the visit may be “more symbolic than strategic,” designed to project Trump as a global deal-maker ahead of the US elections.
Trump’s reported request to exclude Chinese officials from his peace ceremony underscores how external powers often drag the smaller states into their rivalries.
The summit is also expected to revisit ASEAN’s faltering “Five-Point Consensus” on Myanmar, which called for dialogue and an end to violence after the 2021 military coup. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have urged the bloc to take a tougher stance, saying the consensus has “failed.” The issue resonates beyond Southeast Asia.
Another expected talking point is the South China Sea dispute, where negotiations over a long-promised Code of Conduct remain stalled. The Diplomat notes that ASEAN’s divisions on the issue — with only a handful of members directly involved — have prevented a unified response to China’s assertiveness.
The summit will also coincide with growing concern over online scamming and cyber-fraud networks, particularly those linked to Cambodia. A US–UK crackdown this month on the Prince Holding Group, accused of large-scale cybercrime and human trafficking, has added pressure on ASEAN governments to act.
Finally, the ongoing conflict in Gaza is expected to cast a shadow over the Kuala Lumpur meetings. Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia have been vocal on Palestine, and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim plans to raise the issue directly with Trump.
As The Diplomat observes, this week’s summit could test ASEAN’s ability to stay relevant in a rapidly shifting world order.
