Faced with a different world — where there will be more disruptions and shocks, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) must do more to strengthen its collective resilience, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Friday (May 8).He was speaking at the plenary session of the 48th Asean Summit being held in Cebu, Philippines.In 2024, the 11-member bloc, which has a combined population of about 684 million, achieved a total trade in goods and services value of about US$5.1 trillion (S$6.51 trillion).But like the rest of its Asian neighbours, Asean member states are also among the hardest hit amid the Middle East crisis due to their high dependence on energy and other critical supplies from the Gulf.Then, there is also the issue of trade disruptions arising from the US' Liberation Day tariffs, which PM Wong noted has «not completely gone away». «The realities of the global economy going forward are that there will be more disruptions, more shocks, more volatility. That will be the new normal in our economic landscape.»He urged fellow Asean leaders to do more to strengthen the bloc's collective resilience. Read more