Writing in The Business Times, SIIA Chairman Simon Tay argues that ASEAN is increasingly operating in a “minus-two” world, with neither the US nor China able to provide an uncontested organising framework.
In this environment, ASEAN’s challenge is not simply to choose between major powers, but to preserve its agency and expand the choices available to its member states.
The commentary follows Mr Tay’s participation in the 19th Japan-Singapore Symposium, held on 10–11 September 2026 to mark 60 years of diplomatic relations between Singapore and Japan. Against this backdrop, he considers how Japan can contribute to ASEAN’s future amid a more uncertain geopolitical and economic environment.
Japan can play an important role in this effort. From supply chains and technology to energy connectivity and regional trade, Japan and ASEAN can work together to build arrangements that are resilient and open to different partners, rather than allowing the region to become divided between competing systems.
“Japan’s distinctive contribution would then be not simply to compete with China, but to help build a region in which competition does not require exclusion,” Mr Tay writes.
Read the full commentary: https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion-features/what-role-can-japan-play-aseans-future
