The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a combined market of 700 million people comprising south-east nations including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, and Vietnam, is set to complete 60 years of inception in 2027.
That milestone year, when Singapore takes over as chair, said Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, should mark ASEAN’s continuing momentum as the fifth-largest economy in the world, on its way to becoming the fourth-largest by 2030.
“The next decade will be critical to unlocking ASEAN’s full potential,” said Wong, who has just finished his introductory visits to ASEAN capitals, excluding Myanmar, which he said he hopes to visit “when the situation is more conducive”.
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Calling for bolder reforms and unity in the ASEAN bloc for it to be “a more seamless and competitive single market”, Wong said in a video message posted on YouTube on Saturday that the association’s 10 members may be limited in scale individually, but together, have considerable weight.
Wong said the key to becoming a market that attracts businesses and investments in a fragmented global economy lies in closer integration among ASEAN economies, reduced trade and investments barriers and stronger physical infrastructure.
Wong said the ASEAN bloc already has supply chains spanning multiple countries, whose strengths can be leveraged. Giving the example of cotton from Philippines, he said it could be spun in Thai factories, dyed and sewn in Vietnam and exported to the world. “This is the kind of cooperation we must strengthen,” he added.
Wong said it also meant negotiating a digital economy agreement across the bloc and linking payment systems as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have done.
Physical infrastructure including rail and power grid connections must also be enhanced, and ASEAN must also deepen its partnership with the rest of the world, Wong said.
ASEAN has seven free trade agreements with external partners, including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership – the world’s largest trading bloc, he noted. India also has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the ASEAN grouping.
The ASEAN chair 2025 has been pushing for these existing agreements to be upgraded, with Singapore fully supporting the efforts, said Wong.
“The momentum will continue with the Philippines as chair next year, and when Singapore takes over as chair in 2027 – a milestone year marking ASEAN’s 60th anniversary”.
“Continued peace, stability and growth in ASEAN will transform our entire region – and this will translate to better jobs, opportunities and living standards for all our peoples,” The Straits Times quoted Wong as saying.
ASEAN observers note that the regional grouping sits in the midst of US-China rivalries while trying to maintain market networks across the global, especially the consumer-driven Indian economy, the cash-and-oil-rich Gulf states, and managing the sensitivity of ongoing conflict between Israel, Gaza-Hamas and Iran.
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