KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 (Xinhua) — Challenges lie ahead in building the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Community and Malaysia said it would take a leading role in the final push for it.

ASEAN is set to announce the establishment of ASEAN Community by the end of this year, a milestone for the 10-nation bloc. ASEAN leaders will meet on the first of its biannual summits this weekend to discuss the community building and outline the post- 2015 vision for further integration and development.

… But as analysts pointed out, the establishment of AEC does not mean “mission accomplished”. Oh Ei Sun said the less developed ASEAN countries will be the main beneficiaries of AEC.

Oh said another challenge is how ASEAN can carefully maintain its centrality in regional security consultations, as the group has set up various mechanisms for regional cooperation with its dialogue partners, including the Asian Regional Forum (ARF) and the East Asia Summit.