AI safety governance in Southeast Asia

# AI SAFETY GOVERNANCE,

# AI SAFETY GOVERNANCE THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN WAY

AUGUST 2025

LYANTONIETTE CHUA is a co-founder of AI Safety Asia (AISA), where she is the executive director for strategic futures & global affairs.

PHILIP THAM is the managing editor of this report and an analyst for AI Safety Asia (AISA).

CHINASA T. OKOLO is a fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution.

# ABOUT THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION

The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and policy solutions. Its mission is to conduct high-quality, independent research and, based on that research, to provide innovative, practical recommendations for policymakers and the public. The conclusions and recommendations of any Brookings publication are solely those of its author(s) and do not reflect the views of the Institution, its management, or its other scholars.

# ABOUT AI SAFETY ASIA

Established in 2024, AI Safety Asia (AISA) is a global non-profit dedicated to building Asia as a globally-leading safe and responsible AI innovator. We strive to minimise the risks of AI adoption while supporting societies to adopt AI safely. At the core of our mission is the integrated, diverse and collaborative nature of our work. We believe that achieving safe and governed AI begins with building bridges—between generations, disciplines, and regions through actionable steps across our three interrelated program pillars that convene, research and build capacity to shape the future of AI governance in Asia. Beginning in Southeast Asia, we support the development of policy, technical, and research capabilities across the Asia-Pacific region to help ensure AI is governed safely and responsibly.

# READING THIS REPORT

The report is organized in various sections. The main insights can be found in Section 2.1: Regional snapshot (which synthesizes commonalities across the 10 ASEAN member states and Timor-Leste), Section 3: Recommendations for Southeast Asia, and Section 4: Lessons for the wider world.

Specific country profiles are in Section 2: Regional and country reports and are meant to be modular and stand alone. Observers keen to learn more about a specific country can simply refer to each profile in isolation from other sections. Similarly, reading all country reports in the section is not necessary to gather the key insights from this report.

Key definitions and/or insights from each section are also consolidated in blue boxes across the report. These summaries are meant to be concise, with explanations embedded in the main text of the report.

# ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND EDITORIAL TEAM

This report is a joint effort between AI Safety Asia and the Brookings Institution Center for Technology Innovation. The coauthors are Lyantoniette Chua (Chief Editor and co-founder, AISA), Philip Tham (Managing Editor, Lead Analyst, AISA), and Chinasa T. Okolo (Publishing Director, Fellow, Brookings Institution).

# Contributors

We gratefully

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