Concerns over ASEAN’s effectiveness, though it’s seen as proactive in Thailand-Cambodia clash: Survey

SINGAPORE - While ASEAN took “active steps” and did what it could within its limits to manage the Thailand-Cambodia border conflict, the regional grouping came under continued criticism for being “slow and ineffective”, a survey found.

About 38.9 per cent of respondents polled in the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute’s The State of South-east Asia 2026 report agreed that ASEAN had actively mediated to halt the dispute between Cambodia and Thailand, through actions such as diplomacy and ministerial meetings.

A further 28.1 per cent of the 2,008 South-east Asian respondents felt ASEAN was doing its best within institutional limits to deal with the conflict between the neighbouring countries.

The conflict began as a five-day clash in July 2025 before reigniting in December that year in a more devastating round of fighting.

The violence displaced more than one million civilians before a ceasefire was signed between the two countries on Dec 27, 2025, following a special meeting on Dec 22, 2025, of ASEAN foreign ministers in Kuala Lumpur.

Asked for their top concern about ASEAN, 34.7 per cent saw the grouping as “slow and ineffective, and thus cannot cope with fluid political and economic developments”.

This was largely unchanged from the 2025 survey, when 35 per cent felt this way.

The online poll in 2026 was held from Jan 5 to Feb 20, with respondents coming from academia, businesses, governments and regional organisations.

ASEAN has long prioritised decision-making through consensus and adheres to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of its member states. This has led to ongoing criticisms over its relevance and effectiveness.

Speaking at a webinar launching the report on April 7, Ms Joanne Lin, an ISEAS senior fellow and one of the report’s authors, said the findings reflect growing awareness of ASEAN’s internal constraints, “whether in implementing plans or addressing development disparities, or even doubts about its ability to respond effectively to crises like the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict”.

The regional grouping needs stronger unity “in order to have better implementation capacity and a great willingness to use all the tools that it already has – ASEAN has many tools, but it doesn’t mean that all of them are being utilised”, Ms Lin said.

According to the report, 13.5 per cent of respondents believed ASEAN had not used all the tools at its disposal, such as the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation’s High Council, to address the Cambodia-Thailand conflict. Another 11.2 per cent felt that the involvement of external powers in the ceasefire “raises questions about ASEAN’s ability to address issues on its own terms”.

Washington had intervened to help push for an October 2025 truce, while Beijing backed the ceasefire in December the same year.

A majority of respondents – 31.3 per cent – recognised Singapore as the leading contributor in addressing the region’s challenges, followed by Indonesia with 22.2 per cent and Malaysia with 21.3 per cent.

The top reason for choosing Singapore was owing to its economic leadership, while Indonesia was lauded primarily for its ability to build consensus within ASEAN. Malaysia was chosen mainly for its strong leadership of the grouping when it was ASEAN chair in 2025.

The Cambodia-Thailand border conflict was fourth on the list of top geopolitical concerns raised by the survey respondents (40.5 per cent), behind concerns about US leadership under President Donald Trump, global scam operations, and aggression in the South China Sea.

The crisis in Myanmar placed fifth on the list, with 28 per cent.

On this long-running issue, most respondents (40.4 per cent) felt the best path forward would be to engage in independent dialogue with all key stakeholders, including Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government. This was higher than the 33.9 per cent who felt this way in 2025.