Middle east stability is high now—new Beijing agreements locks in peace between Saudi and Iran

Several foreign ministers gathered in an Asian capital to negotiate an end to regional turmoil. One of the countries represented at the meeting brokered an agreement to end hostilities between the others.

This could be the 2023 Beijing agreement to normalize relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. But it could also be Bangkok in 1967, when Thailand’s foreign minister helped forge an agreement to end hostilities between Indonesia and Malaysia. It was at this meeting that the concept for one of the world’s most successful regional organizations was born: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

By the late ‘60s, it was clear to Southeast Asian states that without cooperation they would be unable to thrive economically. Nor would they be able to provide for their own security, particularly from a rising China. Transformative events in the region and world were equally important in ASEAN’s formation.

As war raged in Vietnam and concerns about the spread of communism from China-backed movements abounded, underperforming economies threatened to delegitimize governments across Southeast Asia. Britain was on the cusp of withdrawing from the region; globally, two decades later the Cold War ended. These factors contributed to the formation—and later the membership expansion—of ASEAN.

Recent de-escalations suggest that the regional awareness evident in Southeast Asia in the 1960s might be taking hold in the Middle East. Talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia started in April 2021 in Baghdad, went to Muscat, Oman, and ultimately arrived in Beijing, where they culminated in an agreement that holds promise of being sustained. Other developments, such as the Abraham Accords and the emerging rapprochement between Turkey and Egypt, also suggest a trend toward normalization.