Asean on path to ‘self-destruction’: Analysts

The Asean leaders poing for a family photo during the Asean Summit in Labuan Bajo on May 10, 2023. - AFP

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): With last week’s Asean Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, failing to produce detailed, practical plans to address the region’s most pressing issues, foreign policy analysts are calling on Indonesia to act more independently of a bloc they say is all but immobilized and may be headed for “self-destruction”.

The experts also said Jakarta, widely considered to be Asean’s natural leader, has been held back this year by the bloc’s divided voice on urgent matters.