By Sample Author
Strategic autonomy has become a favourite phrase in Southeast Asian foreign policy circles. It signals independence without commitment and flexibility without cost. In practice it is neither free nor easy.
Autonomy depends on capacity: diversified economic partners, credible defence and cyber capabilities, and institutions able to coordinate positions quickly. Where these are thin, hedging drifts into reaction.
ASEAN’s consensus model offers legitimacy but rarely speed. The question for the next decade is whether member states can build shared capabilities, not just shared statements, so that neutrality becomes a position of strength rather than a default.
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