NEW YORK — The United Nations General Assembly will elect a new non-permanent member for the Asia-Pacific seat on the UN Security Council on June 3, 2025. The Philippines and Kyrgyzstan are competing for the single seat for the 2027–2028 term.

The Philippines has served on the Security Council four times—in 1957, 1963, 1980–1981, and 2004–2005—and is a founding member of ASEAN and a U.S. treaty ally. Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei have pledged support to the Philippines as fellow ASEAN members. A Philippine diplomat said it was natural for Washington to back Manila in the UN Security Council race. The diplomat also said, “The other side is supported by China and Russia.”

Kyrgyzstan has never served on the Security Council and is among 59 countries that have not. It previously ran unsuccessfully for a seat in 2011, losing to Pakistan. If elected, it would become only the second Central Asian nation to serve, following Kazakhstan’s term in 2017–2018. Kyrgyzstan has resolved long-standing border disputes with its neighbors and now has the backing of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. It also has strong support from Turkey and Azerbaijan.

In mid-May 2025, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov published a Facebook post arguing that his country’s candidacy addresses imbalances in the Security Council. “The continued existence of imbalances in the Council, especially the insufficient participation of small, developing, and landlocked states, undermines the stability of the entire architecture of collective security,” Japarov wrote. He added, “Central Asia’s recent progress in resolving border disputes exclusively through peaceful means offers a model showing that even the most sensitive security issues can be resolved through negotiations and mutual consideration of interests.”

Kyrgyzstan has secured the endorsement of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and most of its 57 member states and has invested heavily in outreach to African states, promising alignment with African Union priorities and broader Global South concerns. Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Zheenbek Kulubaev has engaged counterparts from Uruguay, Cuba, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Serbia, Bahrain, and China in New York as part of a diplomatic push. In May 2024, Kyrgyzstan appointed Deputy Prime Minister Edil Baisalov as ambassador to Washington, and on May 27, he met Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Paul Kapur to reinforce Kyrgyzstan’s case.

Kyrgyzstan’s strategy is to block a first-round victory for the Philippines and push the contest into multiple ballots. Winning a seat requires a two-thirds majority in the General Assembly, typically around 125 votes. A Kyrgyz diplomat said, “The UNSC elections are becoming much more competitive than many expected.”