Kuala Lumpur, 25 Oct. 2025

The Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) convened in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, ahead of the bloc’s three-day summit.

Addressing at a rare joint meeting of the bloc’s foreign and economic ministers, Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must not be a passive bystander but a “proactive force for stability, openness and peace” amid rising protectionism and intensifying global power rivalries,  said on Saturday (Oct 25)

Noting that member nations were “meeting at a time when the global order is undergoing profound changes”, he said these included intensifying great power competition, reconfiguring of supply chains, and “blurring of lines between technology, security, and economics”.

“Our continued relevance will be measured by our ability to engage all partners constructively, while resisting the gravitational pull of rivalry and polarisation,” Mohamad added.

Also speaking at the joint meeting - likely the first in 26 years - was Malaysia’s Minister for Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, who said ASEAN must remain steadfast in upholding a rules-based multilateral trading system that underpins global stability and shared prosperity.

“ASEAN should advocate for more focused and high-impact reforms at the WTO (World Trade Organisation) - particularly in areas such as enhancing subsidy transparency, establishing digital trade governance, and restoring trust in dispute settlement mechanisms, to rebuild trust and confidence in global trade rules,” he said.

“It is timely for us to strengthen our regional economic security to enhance our ability to anticipate, manage, and respond to emerging risks across both economic and political spheres,” he added.

He also expressed hope that the ASEAN Geo-Economic Task Force (AGTF), established earlier this year, would offer “clear, practical, and forward-looking recommendations” to guide the bloc's strategic direction.

Saturday’s meeting was attended by ministers and senior officials from ASEAN member states ahead of the leaders’ summit starting Sunday, where global trade, including tariff disputes between the United States and China, is expected to be high on the agenda, given US President Donald Trump’s rare attendance at the twice-yearly meeting.

“It is timely for us to strengthen our regional economic security to enhance our ability to anticipate, manage, and respond to emerging risks, across both economic and political spheres,” he added.

He also expressed hope that the ASEAN Geo-Economic Task Force (AGTF), established earlier this year, would offer “clear, practical, and forward-looking recommendations” to guide the bloc's strategic direction.

Saturday’s meeting was attended by ministers and senior officials from ASEAN member states ahead of the leaders’ summit starting Sunday, where global trade, including tariff disputes between the United States and China, is expected to be high on the agenda, given US President Donald Trump’s rare attendance at the twice-yearly meeting.

malaymail reported today that Geostrategist Prof Dr Azmi Hassan has said the joint meeting during the 2025 Asean Summit, after 26 years, is crucial in achieving regional consensus on intertwined geopolitical and economic issues, including Myanmar, the South China Sea, Cambodia-Thailand border issues, and war in Ukraine and Gaza.

“It is very appropriate and timely, but not out of the ordinary to hold a joint meeting in this particular case, and it is very critical, especially in the US President Donald Trump era. No clearly defined line divides geopolitics and economy,” he told Bernama International News Service.