Beijing and Washington's Tit-for-Tat Display of Strength and Parades: Can Anwar Prevent Escalation
Headline: Kuala Lumpur Summit in October 2025: A Venue for Dialogue Between Global Powers
Malaysia, under the leadership of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, will host the significant ASEAN and East Asia summits in Kuala Lumpur in October 2025. The timing and necessity of these summits are crucial, as they offer a venue for both Beijing and Washington, and their partners, to shift from projection to dialogue.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, known for his balanced and dialogical approach, has cultivated ties with leaders from the US, China, Russia, Japan, India, Australia, and the Brics countries. His chairmanship of ASEAN presents a unique opportunity to avert escalation and promote dialogue over alarmism in the fragile balance of Asia.
The security dilemma in the region arises when projection is misread as aggression. China, for instance, has invested heavily in indigenous defense innovation, producing systems that rival or outpace those of other major powers. This includes the showcase of hypersonic missiles, underwater drones, laser weapons, and AI-enhanced systems in a recent military parade in Beijing. However, the parade did not indicate China's intentions towards conflict, but rather its capabilities.
Excessive militarisation of contested seas, such as the South China Sea, must be avoided. Instead, maritime confidence-building measures must be expanded, and economic interdependence must not be derailed by suspicion. The South China Sea Code of Conduct remains indispensable for ASEAN, but ASEAN must go further to remind great powers that Asia's security cannot be reduced to counters and balances.
Military parades are used by nations to project resolve and reassure domestic audiences. Washington, Russia, and India have also held such parades. However, Anwar Ibrahim, as the chairman of ASEAN, can avert escalation not by silencing parades, but by ensuring they do not march the region into conflict.
The Kuala Lumpur summit must institutionalise reassurance at home through deterrence and reassurance abroad through dialogue. The summit will seat Beijing and Washington under the auspices of ASEAN's quiet but steady diplomacy, a move that, if successful, could cool the action-reaction dynamic between these global powers.
Malaysia, with its 68-year history of democracy and humanitarian mediation, presents itself as a stable democratic convener. The world must choose dialogue over alarmism in Kuala Lumpur this October, as the future of Asia's security hangs in the balance.
