Kuala Lampur, Sept. 9 -- When the Philippines assumes the Group Chairmanship of Asean and related summits, it will do so at a particularly turbulent time for the region. The year 2025 has already been one of Asean's most testing periods since its founding in 1967. The re-election of Donald Trump and the return of his "MAGA tariffs" has rattled supply chains and weakened trust in multilateral trade frameworks. India and Pakistan, both Asean dialogue partners in different capacities, came close to a catastrophic war in mid-2025 before an uneasy ceasefire was brokered by the United States. Meanwhile, Southeast Asia itself is convulsed by overlapping crises: the Thai-Cambodian border conflict, Indonesia's protracted political standoff after a...