The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Overview

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is Southeast Asia's primary multilateral organization, a 10-member grouping of nations with a combined population of 667 million and a combined annual gross domestic product (GDP) of around $3.2 trillion in 2022. 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 member in October 2025. Members rotate as chair: Malaysia is ASEAN's chair for 2025 and the Philippines is to assume the chair in 2026. ASEAN engages in diplomatic, economic, and security talks 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 this style constrains ASEAN from effectively acting on important issues. Others argue 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 defuse a localized but violent border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, an issue that flared again in June 2025. ASEAN's principles have been tested as it seeks to address the crisis that has followed 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 dominant European Union (EU)-style governing body, and some observers see the region's economic and security institutions as underdeveloped. ASEAN convenes and administratively supports a number of regional fora that include other governments (known as "dialogue partners"), including the United States. Since the 1980s, ASEAN has driven the formation of East Asian 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, facilitates dialogue on political and security matters. The East Asia Summit (EAS), created in 2005, is a leaders-level forum with a varied agenda; the United States joined in 2010. The EAS includes all 10 ASEAN members, plus Australia, 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.-U.S. (AUKUS) security grouping, 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.

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 alliances with the Philippines and Thailand and a close security partnership with Singapore. Many U.S. policymakers have said engagement with ASEAN complements bilateral relationships and strengthens the region's collective weight as other regional players gain in economic and military power. The United States initially supported ASEAN as a means to promote dialogue and as a bulwark against Communism, 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 deep U.S. interests in Southeast Asia, including 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, 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.

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 rates. 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 selected U.S. foreign assistance programs, 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 governments' 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. Four 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, regulatory harmonization, and a single ASEAN market and integrated manufacturing base. ASEAN has trade agreements with several 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). Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam are members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). ASEAN members promote infrastructure development, particularly building regional "connectivity" through investment in transport and information technology. This has led to substantial demand for foreign investment, including through China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Human Rights and the Burma Crisis

The United States—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 Envoys 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.