Why Southeast Asia is wary of Trump’s ‘pay-to-play’ global peace board
Last Updated on January 21, 2026 6:36 pm
By Kolette Lim and Aidan Jones
Southeast Asian countries invited to join Donald Trump’s proposed “Board of Peace” should think carefully before entering what looks like a “more exclusive version” of the United Nations Security Council with the US president in ultimate control, analysts caution.
Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam are among about 60 countries that have reportedly received invitations, alongside South Korea and India.
The initiative, presented by Trump as a new international body to promote global stability, was initially authorised by the United Nations Security Council to help oversee the Gaza peace plan and post-war reconstruction. But draft charter language reported by international media, and Trump’s suggestion that the body could later address other conflicts, point to ambitions beyond Gaza.
Ngoei Wen-Qing, an associate professor of history at the Singapore Management University, said the initiative was another of Trump’s attempts to recentre global politics around the US. “There have been suggestions that the world is increasingly multipolar, and the Trump administration has been trying to reverse that in dramatic ways.”
It was Trump’s “more exclusive version” of the UN Security Council, where he would hold almost uncontested veto power as the chair, said Kevin Chen, an associate research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
Trump had long shown his scepticism of the UN, having withdrawn funding from the organisation, and this proposal was consistent with his views, said Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore.
Source : SCMP