The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is Southeast Asia's primary multilateral organization, a 10an 11-member grouping of nations with a combined population of 667684 million and a combined annual gross domestic product (GDP) of around $3.28 trillion in 20222024, according to the ASEAN Statistics Division. Established in 1967, it has grown into one of the world's largest regional fora, representing a strategically important region straddling some of the world's busiest sea lanes, including in the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea. Collectively, ASEAN ranks as the world's fifth-largest economy and the United States' fourth-largest export market. Congress has shown considerable interest—through resolutions, legislation, congressional travel, and other means—in promoting closer U.S.-Southeast Asian and U.S.-ASEAN ties, in part as a counterweight to the growing power of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

ASEAN's members are Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Timor-Leste has observer status and is scheduled to become a full memberTimor-Leste, and Vietnam (see Figure 1). Timor-Leste, the region's newest country, was granted full membership in October 2025. Members rotate as chair: Malaysia iswas ASEAN's chair for 2025, and the Philippines is to assumeassumed the chair infor 2026. ASEAN engages in a range of diplomatic, economic, and security talksdiscussions through hundreds of annual meetings and through a secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia.

ASEAN is a diverse and informal organization. Two of its core operating principles are consensual decisionmaking and noninterference in the internal affairs of its members. Some observers argue that this style constrains ASEAN from effectively actingacting strongly and cohesively on important issues. Others argue that these principles—dubbed the "ASEAN Way"—promote regional stability and ensure that the group's members continue to discuss issues where their interests sometimes diverge, crediting ASEAN with fostering the peace and growth much of Southeast Asia has enjoyed for over 30 years. For instance, in 2011, ASEAN helped defusediffuse a localized but violent border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, an issue that has flared again insince June 2025. ASEAN's principles have been tested as it seeks to address the crisis that has followedin recent years as the organization seeks to mediate the conflict between those two members and address the fallout from the Burmese military's 2021 coup d'état, which has led to a political and humanitarian crisis in Burma.

ASEAN and Asian Regional Architecture

Asia has no dominantUnlike the European Union (EU)-style, ASEAN has no multilateral governing body, and somemany observers see the regionAsia's economic and security institutions as underdeveloped. ASEAN convenes and administratively supports a number of regional fora that, several of which include other governments (known as "dialogue partners"), including the United States. Since the 1980s, ASEAN has drivenbeen critical in driving the formation of East Asianregional institutions, a role Southeast Asian governments call "ASEAN Centrality."

The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), first convened in 1994 with 26 Asian and Pacific states plus the EU, facilitateswas formed to facilitate dialogue on political and security matters. The East Asia Summit (EAS), created in 2005, is aan evolving, leaders-level forum with a varied agenda; the United States joinedgained membership in 2010. The EAS includes all 1011 ASEAN members, plus Australia, Chinathe People's Republic of China (PRC or China), India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, and the United States. The ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus (ADMM+), established in 2010, regularly brings senior defense officials from EAS members together and hosts military exchanges.

Over the past decade, cooperation through non-ASEAN regional groupings such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, the Australia-U.K.UK-U.S. (AUKUS) security groupingpartnership, and other "minilateral" groupings involving regional nations—including some ASEAN members—has deepened. Some Southeast Asian observers express concern that such cooperation weakens ASEAN's centrality, while others argue that multilateral integration fosters the interests of ASEAN members.

Figure 1. Current and Prospective ASEAN Members

Source: Graphic created by CRS.

U.S.-ASEAN Relations

The United States has long-standing bilateral relations with individual Southeast Asian nations, including treaty alliances with the Philippines and Thailand and a close security partnership with Singapore. Many U.S. policymakers have saidseen engagement with ASEAN complementsas complementing bilateral relationships and strengthensstrengthening the region's collective diplomatic weight as other regional players gain in economic and military power. The United States initially supported ASEAN as a means to promote regional dialogue and as a bulwark against Communismcommunism, becoming an ASEAN Dialogue Partner in 1977. In 2009, the United States acceded to the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation and committed to an annual U.S.-ASEAN Meeting. In 2010, it opened the U.S. Mission to ASEAN in Jakarta and appointed the first resident ambassador in 2011. In 2012, the United States and ASEAN agreed to raise the level of the U.S.-ASEAN meeting to a Leaders Meeting. The relationship was elevated to a U.S.-ASEAN Strategic Partnership in 2015 and to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022.

Past U.S. Administrations have identified deepnumerous U.S. interests in Southeast Asia, including. Though the emphasis has varied between Administrations, these interests have included fostering democracy and human rights; encouraging liberal trade and investment regimes; addressing maritime security and tensions in the South China Sea; promoting environmental protection; countering piracy and terrorism; combatting human trafficking and trafficking in narcotics and wildlife; and addressing public health risks. Initiatives aimed at deepening ties with ASEAN have included U.S.-ASEAN Connect to coordinate U.S. public- and private-sector economic initiatives; a Smart Cities Partnership to promote U.S. investment in the region's digital infrastructure; an expanded Fulbright Exchange of ASEAN-U.S. Scholars; and the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI), which offers scholarships and opportunities for young leaders. Funding for some of these programs is in flux following the Trump Administration's foreign assistance cuts.

The United States faces a range of challenges in engaging with ASEAN, including ASEAN's growing inability to reach consensus on addressing crises such as the coup in Burma and tensions in the South China Sea, regional concerns about growing Sino-U.S. tensions, The United States faces a range of challenges in engaging with ASEAN, including ASEAN's limited ability to address the coup in Burma, violence on the Thai-Cambodian border, regional concerns about the impact of growing Sino-U.S. tensions, the continued operation of scam centers in the region, and U.S. sanctions or other restrictions on member governments and their officials. While many Southeast Asian officials have welcomed U.S. efforts to push back against some PRC actions, many also are concerned that efforts to "contain" China could be counter-productive. U.S. support for Israel amidst the humanitarian crisis in Gaza also may affect U.S. diplomacy with some ASEAN members, especially Malaysia and Indonesia.

Some regional officials have expressed concern over the current trajectory of U.S. policy toward Southeast Asia under the Trump Administration. On April 2, 2025, the President levied some of the highest tariff rates in the world on ASEAN members; following a pause in implementation, member states are currently subject to the 10% baseline tariff and are seeking to negotiate lower ratestariff rates currently vary widely, ranging from 10% (Singapore) to 40% (Laos, Burma). Many ASEAN members are dependent on manufacturing exports for economic growth and are deeply integrated in regional and global supply chains.

Historically, the United States has provided a range of assistance to ASEAN and its members. According to a 2024 State Department factsheet, between 2002 and 2024, the United States provided over $14.1 billion in economic, health, and security assistance and over $1.5 billion in humanitarian assistance to Southeast Asian nations. Following the restructuring of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) under the State Department and the cancellation of selectednumerous U.S. foreign assistance programs to Southeast Asia, some , some regional observers have questioned the reliability of the United States as a partner.

ASEAN, China, and the South China Sea

China is the largest trade partner and a major source of investment for many Southeast Asian nations. Concerns about China's growing influence in the region, use of economic leverage to achieve political and strategic goals, and efforts to exert control over much of the South China Sea have strained some member governmentsASEAN members' relations with China. ASEAN governments' different approaches to China also have led to tensions within the group.

Most ASEAN states rely on the U.S. security presence and strong trade and investment ties with the United States to ensure stability and enhance their economic development. FourFour ASEAN members—Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam—have maritime territorial disputes with China (as well as with each other), and others have interests in the South China Sea's natural resources and shipping lanes. In 2002, ASEAN and China agreed to a nonbinding Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, in which they agreed to "resolve their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means, without resorting to the threat or use of force" and to work toward the creation of a formal Code of Conduct to govern activities in the region. ASEAN members have deep disagreements over how to approach the negotiations with China. Some ASEAN members, particularly Cambodia and Laos, have been hesitant to join a unified ASEAN response.

ASEAN's Economic Integration

ASEAN has an internal free trade agreement (the ASEAN FTA, or AFTA.) In 2015, the group launched an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) to promote trade liberalization, and regulatory harmonization, and among members, with the goal of creating a single ASEAN market and integrated manufacturing base. The ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) is set to be concluded and signed in 2026, aimed at bolstering digital economy governance. ASEAN has trade agreements with several regional partners, including Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea. In 2020, ASEAN and five of those nations signed a trade agreement known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) (India withdrew). Four ASEAN nations—Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam —are members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). ASEAN members seek to promote infrastructure development, particularly buildingin building greater regional "connectivity" through investment in transport and information technology. This has led to substantial demand for foreign investment, including in some cases through China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Human Rights and the Burma Crisis

The United StatesSome Members of Congress—and some of ASEAN's members—have long voiced concerns about human rights conditions in several ASEAN member states. Some are effectively one-party states, and coups in Burma (2021) and Thailand (2006 and 2014) deposed democratically elected governments. ASEAN's approach to human rights violations among its members has become a touchstone issue following the coup and widening civil war in Burma. In 2021, ASEAN issued a five-point plan for resolving the crisis, but successive ASEAN Envoysenvoys to Burma have had little success in defusing the crisis. Other human rights issues in ASEAN include the banning of the political opposition in Cambodia and continued efforts by Thailand to safeguard military authority through restrictions on civil rights.