Jakarta. Former Thai prime ministerial hopeful Pita Limjaroenrat recently said that he would work with other Southeast Asian leaders, including President Prabowo Subianto, on boosting intra-ASEAN trade if he were in power.

In 2023, Pita failed his premiership bid after losing the parliamentary vote despite winning the election. A year later, the country's constitutional court banned the reformist leader from politics for a decade and also ordered the disbandment of his party. As Bangkok faces one political storm after another, ASEAN has been working to turn into a single market, while also trying to fully integrate to the global economy. 

The Jakarta Globe recently asked Pita what he thought of ASEAN’s economic integration efforts so far, and whether the 10-strong club had ensured that its people could really feel the benefits. The businessman pointed out how ASEAN nations had not been trading with each other enough -- something which he found to be alarming amidst the punitive US tariffs and the World Trade Organization (WTO)'s inability to settle disputes.

“Over the past three or four years, our trade within ASEAN has been 20 percent of our portfolio. China is 20 percent of the portfolio. The G7, whether it is the US or Japan, makes up a percentage of around 30-something. RCEP [makes up the] remaining,” Pita told a media briefing on the sidelines of the ASEAN for the Peoples Conference. 

By RCEP, Pita was referring to the free trade agreement that ASEAN nations struck with some of its partners: China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Short for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the RCEP members agree to eliminate virtually all tariffs when trading with each other.

“With the current trade unpredictability, the WTO’s paralysis, the reciprocal tariffs, … the dependency within our domestic economy and ASEAN have to improve,” Pita, who still sets his sights on premiership, said.

“If I were the prime minister, together with your president [Prabowo], [Singapore’s] Lawrence Wong, [Malaysia’s] Anwar Ibrahim, … we’d have to think about 30 percent [intra-ASEAN trade],” he stated. 

However, this means that ASEAN needs to improve its transportation and logistics networks. 

“[Transportation] improves the economy, the flow of labor migration, and connectivity. … People will then realize that ASEAN is an asset, and be proud as the group has helped with the small businesses’ [logistics] costs,” Pita told the press.

A 2024 report by the ASEAN Secretariat wrote that 22.1 percent of the bloc’s merchandise exports took place within the region throughout 2023. Some 15.9 percent went to China, followed by the US at 14.9 percent. ASEAN reported that its trade in goods totaled $3.5 trillion in 2024. Close neighbor Singapore is Jakarta’s top trading partner in Southeast Asia. Between January and August 2025, Indonesia’s trade with Singapore reached nearly $21.2 billion, down from $22.2 billion the previous year, government statistics showed.