► Certain references [of the Chairman Statement] were also conspicuously policy-specific, particularly on the adoption of CVID – complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearisation – reinforcing a growing trend seen in Statements from 2017, 2022 and 2023. ► For North Korea, the ARF has served as a neutral and politically acceptable platform, allowing for strategic flexibility and extensive di...

► Recent ASEAN Regional Forum meeting in Laos demonstrated the limit on how ARF can perform in realizing ASEAN Centrality and bring about solutions to major regional security issues. ► ASEAN Regional Forum focus on technical cooperation and its lack of progress on realizing agenda beyond dialogue may test its ability to bring workable solutions to potentials of major conflict in the region. ►&nb...

► With all symbols and practices that laid the foundation for inter-Korean engagement completely gone, it is difficult to imagine North Korea accepting any future olive branch from South Korea ► With the ASEAN Regional Forum being the only multilateral mechanism that North Korea still engages with, South Korea may need to rely on third-party diplomacy ► CSCAP could serve as a potential thir...

► Challenges to ARF's Relevance: The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) faces challenges from rising geopolitical tensions, the proliferation of competing security dialogues, and internal ASEAN conflicts, which threaten its relevance and centrality in regional security. ► Strategic Balancing: ASEAN must navigate between the U.S.-led security architecture and China's growing influence, maintaining strategic autono...