ASEAN faces systemic maritime and climate challenges; regional cooperation needed to address power imbalances and marginalised communities
Original framing: “Philippine Foreign Secretary says ASEAN must work together” — Al Jazeera
Indigenous maritime peoples such as the Sama‑Bajau and the Mangyan hold centuries‑old stewardship practices that can inform sustainable fisheries and conflict mitigation. Their customary law, known as "adat," offers conflict‑resolution mechanisms that are often sidelined by state‑centric ASEAN protocols. Recognizing and integrating these traditions could rebalance power dynamics and enhance legitimacy of regional agreements.
The call for ASEAN unity, when stripped of its diplomatic gloss, reveals a web of historical grievances, power asymmetries, and climate‑driven insecurities that marginalise indigenous and gendered voices.
By integrating indigenous maritime law, establishing transparent scientific monitoring, and learning from cross‑cultural governance models, ASEAN can transition from symbolic solidarity to functional cooperation. Concrete mechanisms—joint surveillance, a climate‑resilience fund, and a digital people‑to‑people network—anchor this transformation in evidence and equity. The trickster insight warns that without institutionalizing these pathways, the rhetoric of togetherness will merely mask ongoing competition, perpetuating the very conflicts it purports to resolve.