Malaysia’s 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship: Economic Integration, Strategic Balancing, and Normative Leadership

Abstract

Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025 arrives at a pivotal moment for the region, as ASEAN seeks to consolidate the achievements of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and prepare the foundations for ASEAN Vision 2045. Against the backdrop of intensifying global competition and shifting regional dynamics, Malaysia’s leadership will be critical in ensuring ASEAN’s relevance and resilience. This paper assesses Malaysia’s chairmanship through three interrelated dimensions. First, it examines Malaysia’s role in operationalizing the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and laying the groundwork for ASEAN Vision 2045, with particular attention to strengthening economic integration, advancing digital connectivity, and fostering sustainable development. Second, the study analyses Malaysia’s diplomatic balancing between major powers, particularly China, the United States, and India, and its efforts to reinforce ASEAN centrality amidst competing Indo-Pacific frameworks. Third, it evaluates Malaysia’s normative leadership in promoting inclusivity, governance, and human security under the banner of its domestic “Madani” policy, assessing how this values-driven approach may shape ASEAN’s collective identity and external credibility. Methodologically, the paper draws on documentary analysis, ASEAN communiqués, and secondary scholarship to assess Malaysia’s chairmanship through the lenses of regionalism, middle-power diplomacy, and norm diffusion. The findings suggest that while Malaysia is well-positioned to advance ASEAN’s economic and institutional cohesion, its success will depend on reconciling national priorities with regional consensus, addressing intra-ASEAN divergences, and enhancing ASEAN’s collective agency in the wider Asia-Pacific. Ultimately, Malaysia’s 2025 Chairmanship represents both an opportunity and a test of ASEAN’s ability to act cohesively in an increasingly complex multipolar order.