ASCC Commences Session 1; Finds Itself Going Anywhere But Forward
- The Nation
- Jun 19, 2025
- 3 min read
Debate goes dry as ASCC tries to tackle the prospect of active ageing despite having claimed to learn from previous experiences.
The country ministers in the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) seem to have two favourite phrases: “in order to avoid circular debate” and “this minister would like to propose a solution”. As of right now, they have failed at the first, and they have thrown at least 10 different plans at one another— all of which actually aim to solve the same problem. So far, barely one third of what needs to be discussed has been addressed.
While the committee plans to tackle the problem of infrastructure first, I truly wonder whether they are even making any progress. Countries have been arguing back and forth on how they can provide the highest quality infrastructure for the elderly in ASEAN to promote active aging, all insisting on using their own solutions. A conclusion to this seems to be nowhere near in sight.
Some of the more prominent, and rather confusing, solutions include the RED Framework and the CARE plan.
The RED framework, as proposed by Vietnam, has 3 main steps. They focus on repurposing & upgrading existing infrastructure, expanding and enhancing healthcare facilities, and developing active aging programmes.
Fortunately, another minister decided to point out the obvious flaw in this solution. The areas needing this infrastructure the most are typically rural ones, and the existing infrastructure there is few and far between. The quality of these few buildings is also worrying, and they may be unable to act as stable bases for further infrastructure development.
Moving on, the CARE solution, proposed by Indonesia, stands for Community resilience, Accessibility, Re-skilling, and Equity. Classes on these four sections will be facilitated at active aging centres, with the manpower for this being provided by Singapore, India, Myanmar and the European Union. It is quite a commendable solution that addresses many of the difficulties elderly people face in today’s world, although relying solely on India to fund this is unrealistic.
That being said, the committee needs to come to a consensus on which solutions to implement and move on. This inaction is especially reminiscent of what occurred a few days before with the ASEAN Ministers' Meeting on Sports (AMMS), in which
countries like Thailand barely stepped up when various solutions were irritatingly brought up on just a single topic.
I admit that the Thai Ministers have put in more effort to contribute to the committee, but they are at most just forwarding circular debate with duplicate solutions. With more than 13.6% of the Thai population being 65 and over, and the country projected to become a super-aged society in the future, I expected them to be more concerned with getting things done.
This is uniquely out of character for the Minister of Thailand. In 2018, they were able to lead the establishment of the ASEAN Centre for Active Ageing and Innovation (ACAI), which serves as a resource center conducting research on active aging strategies, policies and innovation.
Perhaps the ACAI is something the minister can consider touching on, in order to contribute more productively to discussion.
Not to mention that Thailand’s situation is incredibly dire. A growing population of seniors means that there is a need for more facilities catered to their care. Efforts for elderly housing have only been concentrated in the city. Bangkok has 257 locations within the province, whereas rural areas like Phitsanulok only have 15.
Other than this, improving the social climate and accessibility are also crucial topics. On improving accessibility, there is lots that the country and committee can do to maintain active aging. One such way is by lowering the cost barrier.
In the status quo, traditional familial care arrangements are becoming increasingly difficult too. This is due to the increase in the number of elderly as well as the cost of it. Institutional care services need to become more accessible by lowering the cost barrier.
At the same time, ASEAN as a whole is also currently lacking frameworks and succinct strategies on how to maintain active aging in its respective fields.
Thus, if the region does not put in the necessary effort, the aging population in the area might just be left to rot. Should the member states not wish for this to become a reality, prompt action must be taken.
Hopefully, moving forward, the ASCC will navigate committee debate to be more productive moving forwards, and move one step closer to providing the elderly with better welfare.
Bibliography
World Health Organization. 2023. “Thailand’s Leadership and Innovations towards Healthy Ageing.” Www.who.int. February 9, 2023.
https://www.who.int/southeastasia/news/feature-stories/detail/thailands-leadership-and-in novation-towards-healthy-ageing.
World Health Organisation. 2024. “Aged Society: Embracing Challenges and Unlocking Opportunities.” Krungsri.com. 2024.
Money &, Banking Online. 2025. “...” Moneyandbanking.co.th. 2025.
Written by: Genevieve Wee Shi Yun, Canada Alexa Joeve Devela, Alexa Ng
Comments