In the digital event titled “ASEAN goes BRICS – Why Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are seeking new options – and what this means for Europe and Germany”, hosted by the Friedrich Naumannn Foundation (FNF) on June 15, 2026, CPG Program Manager Lucas Meier joined an expert panel examining Southeast Asia’s evolving foreign policy strategies amid shifting global power dynamics.

The discussion focused on the foreign policy positioning of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, which remain deeply integrated into economic and political partnerships with the United States and Europe, while at the same time expanding their engagement with emerging frameworks such as BRICS. Rather than indicating a shift away from established partners, these developments were interpreted as part of a broader strategy of geo-economic diversification and pragmatic multi-vector alignment.

Against this backdrop, the panel analyzed the underlying drivers of this approach, including the pursuit of greater strategic autonomy in global governance, the need to enhance economic resilience through diversified partnerships, and the role of domestic political considerations in shaping foreign policy priorities across the region.

Alongside Lucas Meier, the panel featured Jan-Christoph Oetjen, Member of the European Parliament, and Felix Jantz, FNF’s Regional Program Manager for Southeast and East Asia and editor of the recently published collected volume ASEAN goes BRICS: Understanding the Attraction of BRICS for ASEAN Countries (Regional Office Asia, Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit, 2026).

The full recording of the event is available here to watch on YouTube.