In January, the BRICS group invited new members to join, but no Southeast Asian countries were included.

The BRICS group, established 18 years ago, welcomed new members in January this year, but no Southeast Asian countries joined.

However, Thailand and Malaysia have recently expressed their willingness to join.

In response, Singapore's "Channel NewsAsia" cited experts on the 21st, saying that Southeast Asian countries hope to have more options in the global economy and to attract voter support through their international standing.

In 2006, Brazil, Russia, India, and China formed the BRIC, and the first summit was held in 2009.

In 2010, South Africa was invited to join, forming the current BRICS.

In January 2024, the organization further expanded, with Iran, the UAE, Ethiopia, and Egypt becoming new members.

Saudi Arabia and Argentina were also invited, but the former is still deliberating, and the latter's new president, Javier Milei, rejected the invitation.

Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported that BRICS's total economic value exceeds $28.5 trillion, accounting for 28% of the global economy.

Bloomberg pointed out on the 21st that BRICS's expansion was driven by China, aiming to woo countries traditionally allied with the United States to enhance its global influence.

South Africa and Russia support the expansion, while India was initially hesitant due to concerns that a larger BRICS might become a mouthpiece for China, and Brazil feared it would alienate the Western bloc.

For new members, BRICS offers easier access to financing from wealthy countries and serves as an independent political group not influenced by the United States.

At the BRICS Foreign Ministers' meeting in early June, Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa expressed Thailand's intention to join BRICS to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura stated on the 20th that Thailand had formally applied to join BRICS weeks ago and hopes to be accepted as a new member at the next summit in Russia.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also expressed his willingness to join BRICS in an interview with China's "Observer" on the 16th.

Although Indonesia has not formally sought to join BRICS, Anwar sought China's support for Malaysia's BRICS membership during talks with visiting Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the 19th.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in January that Indonesia is still evaluating joining BRICS and emphasized that Indonesia is open to cooperation with all parties as long as it is mutually beneficial.

Indonesian ambassadors to India and Russia told the "Jakarta Post" on the 5th that both India and Russia want Indonesia to join BRICS.

However, the two ambassadors admitted that the Indonesian government has not formally pushed the idea of joining BRICS.

Channel NewsAsia (CNA) pointed out on the 21st that interested countries' leaders or foreign ministers must consult with the rotating chair country, which then informs all member countries.

The selection panel of member country leaders will recommend new members for consideration by the foreign ministers.

BRICS foreign ministers will make recommendations to their national leaders, who will decide on new members based on full consultation and consensus.

Once the rotating chair country announces the decision, the candidate country will be invited to become a member and will be asked to appoint a leader representative responsible for communication among member countries.

Upon acceptance of the invitation by the candidate country's leader or foreign minister, the country officially becomes a BRICS member.

Joseph Liow, Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, told CNA that countries interested in joining BRICS see the organization's "collective potential" as aligned with their national interests and hope to have diverse options in the global economy.

According to CNA, Laos and Myanmar have also expressed interest in joining BRICS, while Vietnam is "closely monitoring the process of becoming a BRICS member."

Bhima Yudhistira, Executive Director of the Center for Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS) in Indonesia, told CNA that most ASEAN countries view China and India as traditional markets and are particularly influenced by China and India in terms of investment, trade, and infrastructure financing.

Singapore and the Philippines have not expressed intentions to join BRICS.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak noted that due to little progress in joining the OECD or the EU Schengen visa-free program, and the slower-than-expected progress in negotiating a free trade agreement with the EU, as well as obstacles in some domestic plans, joining BRICS could be a way to show achievements to the Thai people.

He mentioned that the OECD consists of developed countries, which is very different from BRICS, and joining the OECD requires meeting certain standards, which could prompt Thailand to reform.

Thitinan stated that the relationship between former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Russian President Vladimir Putin is also a factor, as Maris is seen as Thaksin's aide rather than an autonomous chief diplomat.

He pointed out that Indonesia has not pushed to join BRICS because its interests can be managed through bilateral agreements or other platforms, without the need to sign agreements with Russia and Iran.

Thitinan also mentioned that Indonesia is very wary of BRICS potentially taking an anti-Western stance in the future, emphasizing that "joining BRICS should not be Thailand's choice."

Regarding Singapore and the Philippines not expressing intentions to join BRICS, Bhima explained that the Philippines is more affected by the South China Sea conflict and has thus kept its distance from China.

Singapore, already a center for investment and finance for many Chinese companies, might be concerned about overlapping bilateral and multilateral agreements with China and other BRICS members.

If major BRICS members such as China and India offer substantial investment plans, reduce barriers to exports to BRICS member countries, increase knowledge exchanges among political leaders, and provide loans for large projects that meet international standards and are more reliable, more countries may be interested in joining BRICS.