ASEAN’s traditional non-aligned approach, which has preserved regional peace for decades, faces mounting strain as China’s sustained pressure in the South China Sea exposes the limits of consensus-based diplomacy. ASEAN faces its toughest test balancing neutrality amid global disorder, particularly in the South China Sea. The South China Sea remains ASEAN’s greatest challenge, where two decades of negotiations with China over a legally binding Code of Conduct have stalled, exposing how consensus-based decision-making becomes a weakness when members have conflicting ties. When Neutrality Becomes a LiabilityThe South China Sea Challenge | Institutional LimitationsHowever, ASEAN’s greatest strength becomes its most dangerous weakness when one party at the table is not merely talking but actively taking. Nowhere is this clearer than in the South China Sea.