KUALA LUMPUR – Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Australia convened for the 5th ASEAN‑Australia Summit in Kuala Lumpur on 28 October 2025, reaffirming and advancing the framework of their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP). The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Summit and related gatherings at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
The summit highlighted the CSP, originally established in 2021, as the core structure of the ASEAN-Australia relationship. Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the partnership’s “Vision Statement” and the Melbourne Declaration, adopted at the special ASEAN–Australia Summit in March 2024.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia said the leaders adopted the “ASEAN-Australia Leaders’ Statement on Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management”, underscoring both sides’ resolve for regional peace and stability.
“This important statement demonstrates our shared commitment to upholding a peaceful and stable Southeast Asia, guiding against conflict and other potential threats to the rules and norms that advance all of our interests,” he said.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia, chairing ASEAN for 2025, noted Australia’s longstanding support for the bloc and emphasised the strong people-to-people links between Australia and ASEAN nations. “I am very optimistic because the people-to-people connection between Australia and ASEAN countries is huge in terms of students, business, researchers and tourists,” he said.
In his remarks at the summit, Vietnamese Premier Phạm Minh Chính pointed out that approximately 83 per cent of the Plan of Action for the 2025–2029 period under the CSP had already been put into motion.
He proposed four strategic priorities for taking the partnership forward: intensifying multi-layered economic connectivity, advancing digital and green transitions, strengthening infrastructure and energy links, and deepening security cooperation including maritime and cybersecurity domains.
Economically, the summit recognised robust trade and investment ties: bilateral trade between Australia and the ASEAN bloc reached approximately US$96.2 billion in 2024, with Australian investment into ASEAN amounting to about US$1.65 billion.
The Melbourne Declaration had established a broad framework covering trade, climate action, maritime cooperation and emerging leadership. At the Kuala Lumpur summit, the leaders set their sights on the CSP’s fifth anniversary in 2026 as a strategic opportunity to deepen cooperation.
Among the key deliverables was the joint statement on conflict prevention and crisis management, anchoring the partnership’s security dimension. Australia reaffirmed its commitment to economic engagement in Southeast Asia, including a significant investment and development assistance programme emphasising digital transformation, clean energy and resilience building.
For Malaysia and the region, this summit carries local importance. Hosting the event underlines Kuala Lumpur’s role as a centre for regional diplomacy. Strengthening ASEAN-Australia ties opens new channels for trade and investment for Malaysia and its neighbours, particularly in infrastructure, digital economy and education.
In summary, the 5th ASEAN-Australia Summit has reinforced and upgraded the CSP framework, aligning political-security, economic and sociocultural cooperation under the shared vision established in Melbourne. With the 2026 anniversary of the CSP on the horizon, both sides signalled their intention to move from strategic commitment to operational outcomes across the Indo-Pacific region.
