What Turkey’s upgrade to Asean dialogue partner status means

Turkey’s ascension to Asean dialogue partner marks the west Asian country’s bid to position itself as a middle power, according to analysts. The upgrade on July 21 breaks an Association of Southeast Asian Nations moratorium in place since the UK’s admission in 2021. Turkey joins the US, China, Russia, Britain, Australia, Japan and South Korea. In a social media post on the same day, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara had increased its cooperation with Asean members and raised…