Singapore and Indonesia call for a pragmatic approach to AI sovereignty in ASEAN

For much of the global conversation around artificial intelligence, the dominant narrative has centred on sovereignty: who owns the models, controls the chips and builds the infrastructure.

At the Asia Economic Summit 2026 in Jakarta, however, Singapore and Indonesia offered a notably different interpretation.

Rather than treating AI sovereignty as technological self-sufficiency, both governments argued that Southeast Asia's competitive advantage lies in its ability to make pragmatic technology choices, harmonise regulations and ensure AI benefits businesses and citizens across the region - not just large enterprises.

The discussion between Singapore's minister for digital development and information Josephine Teo and Indonesia's minister of communication and digital affairs Meutya Hafid reflected an increasingly mature policy conversation as ASEAN prepares for the next stage of AI adoption.

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Redefining AI sovereignty

Teo challenged the increasingly common assumption that digital sovereignty requires countries to own every layer of AI infrastructure.

"There is a need for us to be able to use AI on our own terms in service of our people," she said.

"But whether that is achieved solely through your own building and ownership of everything along the AI stack is the question."

Instead, she argued governments should concentrate on three priorities: developing AI capabilities within the public sector, building the expertise needed to regulate AI effectively, and making "smart choices" when selecting technology partners.

Those decisions, she said, should be based on performance, affordability, security and resilience - not geopolitical alignment.

I'm not choosing on the basis of where it comes from, I'm choosing on the basis of what it can do for us.

The position represents a more pragmatic interpretation of sovereignty, one that may resonate with many Southeast Asian economies that lack the scale to independently develop frontier AI models or semiconductor ecosystems.

Hafid echoed that philosophy while adding Indonesia's own priorities.

"Sovereignty, when done well, is about having control at home and the confidence to also cooperate," she said.

For Indonesia, sovereignty also means ensuring economic value remains within the country while maintaining access to critical data.

The marketing opportunity lies in interoperability

Perhaps the most commercially significant message from the discussion was not about AI itself but about regulation.

Both ministers highlighted the importance of the proposed Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), which aims to create more consistent digital rules across ASEAN.

Today, multinational technology companies entering Southeast Asia often navigate multiple regulatory frameworks across the region.

Hafid argued that common standards could substantially lower that complexity.

"Now, for a big tech company, when they want to come to ASEAN, they have to talk to 11 countries with 11 sets of the rules."

For marketers, platforms and digital businesses, regulatory interoperability could ultimately prove just as valuable as advances in AI capability itself.

Teo illustrated the challenge using civil aviation.

Airports can exist independently, she noted, but international travel only works because countries agree on technical standards that allow aircraft to operate seamlessly across borders.

Digital economies, she suggested, require the same principle.

"The hard work" now lies in ensuring data systems, legal frameworks and technical standards can work together across ASEAN.

AI infrastructure is becoming an energy conversation

Both ministers acknowledged that Southeast Asia's AI ambitions increasingly depend on infrastructure beyond data centres.

As countries continue attracting investments from major technology companies, electricity - not compute - is emerging as a strategic constraint.

Teo pointed to ASEAN's proposed regional power grid as one potential long-term solution.

"We are building up a lot of compute capacity through data centres, but these data centres need to run on power."

The observation reflects a broader shift across global AI development, where energy availability is becoming as important as access to chips.

For brands, cloud providers and enterprise technology vendors, future AI expansion may depend as much on sustainable infrastructure investment as software innovation.

Trust is becoming AI's next competitive advantage

While much attention has focused on AI capability, Teo argued that consumer trust may become the next battleground.

Her ministry is exploring what she described as the equivalent of "nutrition labels" for AI applications.

Rather than regulating every model directly, developers could disclose what AI products are designed for - and equally importantly, what they are not intended to do.

"If an AI app is being used by you, does the app developer have the responsibility to tell you what it is good for... and what it is not meant for?"

The proposal reflects a broader evolution in AI governance.

Instead of simply debating safety in abstract terms, governments are beginning to explore practical consumer-facing transparency mechanisms that resemble food or pharmaceutical labelling.

For marketers deploying AI-powered customer experiences, transparency may increasingly become part of brand trust rather than merely regulatory compliance.

Inclusive AI remains Southeast Asia's defining challenge

Perhaps the strongest area of alignment between Singapore and Indonesia centred on accessibility.

Hafid warned that AI cannot become a technology reserved for major cities or large corporations.

If AI works only in Jakarta, we will say that AI has failed in Indonesia.

Instead, Indonesia is integrating AI into social assistance programmes serving tens of millions of families while looking at applications across public services.

She also stressed the importance of protecting vulnerable users, particularly children.

Teo similarly argued that AI's greatest opportunity may lie in what she described as "small AI" - lightweight, locally relevant applications that solve specific community problems without requiring massive computing resources.

That philosophy may prove particularly relevant in ASEAN, where micro, small and medium enterprises account for the overwhelming majority of businesses.

As Hafid noted, "97% of our economy" depends on MSMEs.

Rather than concentrating AI capability among large enterprises, governments increasingly see broad-based adoption as the real measure of success.

A distinctly ASEAN approach

Despite differing national priorities, the discussion revealed an emerging regional consensus.

Unlike the US-China competition that often frames AI as a race for technological dominance, Singapore and Indonesia presented AI as an ecosystem challenge requiring collaboration, interoperability and shared governance.

The emphasis was less on building everything domestically than on ensuring countries retain agency over how AI is deployed.

For brands and technology companies operating across Southeast Asia, that distinction matters.

Success in the region may increasingly depend not only on offering advanced AI capabilities, but also on demonstrating affordability, resilience, transparency and an ability to operate within an increasingly harmonised ASEAN digital framework.

As the region prepares for its next wave of AI investment, Southeast Asia appears to be defining competitiveness on its own terms - not through isolation, but through coordinated scale.

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