ASEAN’s centrality will not hold (Justin Bassi and Euan Graham – The Strategist)

One doesn’t need to be a sceptic of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to question whether its much vaunted ‘centrality’ as a regional organisation has value beyond rhetoric. Three big meetings will be held in Asia this week: an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Seoul; the attention-grabbing meeting between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping on the APEC sidelines; and, almost unnoticed, a set of ASEAN gatherings in Malaysia.

ASEAN’s centrality will not hold | The Strategist