Partnership on energy now crucial for ASEAN

As strategic rivalries, economic fragmentation and climate pressures fracture global politics, energy security has become one of the most pressing strategic concerns in Southeast Asia. For the region's developing and middle-income nations, energy security is no longer just an economic box to check. It has become a matter of political stability, industrial competitiveness and long-term sovereignty.

This urgency was front and center at the recent meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cebu in the Philippines.

Beyond the diplomatic language, the reality is clear: No country in the Southeast Asia region can handle the current energy chaos alone. Energy markets have become increasingly volatile, while supply chains are heavily affected by geopolitical factors, and the global transition to green energy is increasingly shaped by evolving international dynamics.

The challenge for ASEAN lies in the fact that it is far from a monolith. This divide has created very different energy realities across the region. On the one side are the resource-rich exporters, with large natural energy reserves and the economic flexibility to move more quickly toward a green transition. On the other side sit the fuel-dependent importers, nations that are heavily tied to fossil fuels just to sustain basic economic growth and are highly vulnerable to fluctuations in global energy prices. Because of these massive internal disparities, any regional energy policy has to be flexible and highly pragmatic, not bound by rigid Western or global ideologies.

To be fair, ASEAN has built solid foundations. Initiatives like the ASEAN Power Grid, the Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline and the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation are vital, as are high-level platforms like the ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting and the East Asia Summit. But these shouldn't be viewed merely as technical achievements; they are important safeguards against external economic shocks.

Yet external pressures are mounting. Developing countries are under growing pressure from international demands to decarbonize overnight, without fully considering local developmental constraints and economic realities. For a country like Cambodia, this creates a difficult policy dilemma. The green transition is necessary, but moving too quickly carries serious economic risks. If the transition is rushed, production costs will soar, industries will lose their competitive edge, and poverty reduction efforts — the very core of national development — will stall.

This is exactly why the Global South is raising concerns over one-size-fits-all climate requirements. True sustainability is impossible without recognizing that different nations have entirely different capacities. For developing states, energy security and national development are fundamentally inseparable — a successful green transition is difficult to achieve without a stable economic foundation.

This is where the partnership between China and ASEAN becomes vital. Over the past decade, Beijing has expanded its role significantly in the region's energy sector, anchoring everything from Mekong hydropower and solar farms to electric vehicle supply chains and smart grids.

At its core, this partnership focuses on genuine multilateralism, consultation and respect for different national conditions — principles that are particularly urgent in a sector where long-term stability is paramount. In practical terms, it means turning political commitments into practical initiatives to strengthen emergency response coordination, improve technology-sharing transparency, expand green financing, and standardize cross-border connectivity. If ASEAN hopes to navigate this transition without breaking its supply chains or choking economic growth, this level of regional coordination will become increasingly important.

But this level of coordination cannot just exist on paper; it must be proved on the ground. Infrastructure projects should be judged by their actual utility and practical outcomes, not their political symbolism.

This is precisely why long-term cooperation will only survive if it is approached with genuine pragmatism and mutual sensitivity rather than geopolitical grandstanding. Energy security should never become a mere extension of major-power competition.

However, building physical infrastructure is only half the battle. Infrastructure alone will not be enough without skilled human resources and institutional capacity. Southeast Asia is facing a serious deficit in the technical expertise, regulatory capacity and institutional resilience required to manage these increasingly complex energy systems over the long term. This operational challenge is made even more difficult because energy security can no longer be viewed in isolation. It is now closely linked to maritime security, digital infrastructure, critical supply chains and technological governance.

Ultimately, energy cooperation between China and ASEAN is about far more than electricity generation, trade flows or infrastructure financing. It is a defining test of whether the region can preserve stability and sustain economic progress during a period of intense global uncertainties.

For developing nations, reliable and affordable energy remains the bedrock of social stability and economic opportunity. In an increasingly polarized world, Southeast Asia's resilience will not be built on exclusionary blocs or ideological confrontations. It will depend largely on deep regional connectivity, practical regional cooperation and the ability of regional actors to navigate major-power dynamics with caution, balance and careful strategic judgment.

The author is an associate member of the Royal Academy of Cambodia and director-general of the academy's International Relations Institute of Cambodia.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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