ASEAN's Indo-Pacific blueprint aims to stitch together the Indian subcontinent and the Asia-Pacific into a single connected, cooperative space. Anchored by "ASEAN Centrality," it is a bold strategic bid to convert great-power battlegrounds into open, inclusive arenas—flatly rejecting zero-sum logic in an era of trade wars, geopolitical shocks, and geoeconomic realignment. From Paper Vision to Real-World Playbook June 2019, Bangkok. At the 34th ASEAN Summit, ten Southeast Asian leaders signed a landmark document that would redefine how the bloc navigates its broader neighborhood: the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) . For the first time, ASEAN articulated a unified strategic posture on the world's most contested maritime expanse. Far from gathering dust on a shelf, the AOIP has steadily built diplomatic clout and operational momentum: The ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum (AIPF): Launched in Jakarta in September 2023 as the AOIP's flagship eve...