KUALA LUMPUR: Asean must strike a balance between openness and security to safeguard its position in a world increasingly divided by economic fragmentation, says Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
The Investment, Trade and Industry Minister said the region’s decades of progress, built on open trade and integration, were now under threat from rising protectionism, technological decoupling and unilateral measures.
“Global economic fragmentation has become one of the defining challenges of our time.
“What began as trade disputes has now expanded to encompass logistics, technology and critical supply chains – reshaping the global trade landscape and testing the resilience of interconnected economies like ours,” he said in his opening remarks at the joint Asean Foreign and Economic Ministers’ Meeting yesterday
To confront these challenges, Tengku Zafrul said Asean must anchor its response on economic security and resilience – protecting supply chain stability, securing access to critical goods and technologies, and strengthening food, energy and digital security.
“Economic resilience requires diversifying markets and deepening intra-Asean trade and investment,” he said, adding that these efforts would help the bloc preserve its “strategic autonomy and regional stability” amid global uncertainty.
He also called for renewed commitment to a rules-based multilateral trading system and reforms at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to restore trust in global trade.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, who was also present, said geopolitical rivalry and supply-chain reconfiguration were reshaping the global order.
“Protectionism is on the rise and multilateralism is under pressure. Economic decisions are now shaped by strategic imperatives rather than purely commercial ones,” he said.
Both Tengku Zafrul and Mohamad urged Asean leaders to speak with one voice – defending openness, neutrality and cooperation as the foundation for the region’s long-term prosperity.
As Asean Chair, they said Malaysia would continue to champion collective resilience and a united regional response to global challenges.
