JOHOR BAHRU: As Malaysia prepares to take over the 2025 chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), its recent foreign policy shift in cosying up to the likes of China and Russia could translate into more active collaboration between these countries and the regional bloc.
This could prompt concern from some ASEAN members and test the bloc’s unity, but is unlikely to alter its cohesion, analysts say.
Malaysia is expected to ceremonially take over as ASEAN chair at the end of the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane on Friday (Oct 11)ubet95, with Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone to hand over the gavel to Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. The chairmanship is rotated annually among the 10 member states in alphabetical order.
Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Laos Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone pose before the opening ceremony of the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits and Related Summits in Vientiane, Laos, on Oct 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)