The 37th Asia-Pacific Roundtable: Crisis in an Interregnum opened Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur.

The June 4-6 forum was convened by Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia on behalf of the ASEAN Institutes of Strategic and International Studies (ASEAN-ISIS) -- a network of some of the biggest policy institutes and think-tanks in the Southeast Asian region.

Over 100 delegates, including some of the region’s key business executives, experts and government officials, went to the Malaysian capital to discuss the interregnum – a period of discontinuity – and how this affects the global order.

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Mohd Faiz Abdullah, chairman of ISIS Malaysia, opened the forum by highlighting the challenges facing the current system, including the shift from unipolarity to multipolarity, and the growing influence of emerging middle and major powers.

Yose Rizal Damuri, executive director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in  Jakarta, said in his opening remarks that ASEAN has the potential to become a leader in shaping a new world order.

Contact the writer at prime@chinadailyapac.com