3.2 – Global governance: political and economic
3.5 – Regionalism and the EU
The recent summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Kuala Lumpur saw two major developments; the formal accession of Timor‑Leste (East Timor) as ASEAN’s 11th member on 26 October 2025 and the signing of the “Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord” between Cambodia and Thailand, witnessed by Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Achieving independence from Indonesia in 2002 and with a GDP of only around US $2 billion, Timor-Leste is among the poorest (with around 40% living below the poverty line) and youngest democracies in Asia (with two-thirds of the population below 30). Timor-Leste’s precarious socio-economic situation meant that some ASEAN members, such as Singapore, were reluctant to accept it into the bloc, fearing that they would not be able to contribute meaningfully and would become a drag on future integration in ASEAN’s three community pillars – Economic (AEC), Political-Security (APSC) and Socio-Cultural (ASCC). However, the decision to finally accept Timor-Leste shows that ASEAN is moving beyond its previous membership freeze (the last wave of expansion was in the 1990s) and is seeking a greater role for regionalist institutions. This reflects the liberal view of states cooperating to achieve mutual gains in global politics.
On the Cambodia-Thailand front, the deal reached at the summit builds on an earlier 28 July ceasefire after deadly clashes over the contested border surrounding Preah Vihear and the displacement of around 300,000 civilians. The Kuala Lumpur Accord aims for “immediate and unconditional” cessation of fire, withdrawal of heavy weapons, prisoner release and border committee meetings, under supervision from an ASEAN-led team of neutral observers. This is certainly a promising development and marks a shift within ASEAN from purely diplomatic mechanisms to more formalised monitoring of interstate conflict.
Nevertheless, this does not mean that the conflict is fully ‘solved’ – clashes have flared up several times over the past fifty years, despite a 1962 ruling by the United Nations ICJ (International Court of Justice) in Cambodia’s favour. ASEAN as a bloc is strongly committed to the principle of state sovereignty, and “consensus-based, non-interference” culture, favouring intergovernmentalism over supranationalism. This means that it does not have any coercive enforcement mechanisms against member-states and must rely instead on negotiation and diplomatic pressure. The viability of the peace-deal in the longer run depends on the willingness of Cambodia and Thailand’s sovereign governments to abide by its terms and illustrates the realist view of international relations that sovereign states remain the primary and most significant actors when determining political outcomes.