ASEAN Tuna Ecolabelling (ATEL) has agreed on a scheme of tuna ecolabelling after the approval at the Ministerial of ASEAN Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) meeting in 2018. It makes ATEL the first regional seafood eco-label scheme in the world. It becomes an achievement of ASEAN in supporting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially for tuna fisheries management. Unfortunately, after four years, its scheme has not yet been completed and takes no support from ASEAN countries, including Indonesia as the initiator. Lack of leadership in ASEAN is the leading cause of the delay in the implementation of ATEL in its region. Leadership is the primary key to encouraging sustainable development, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study aims to analyze the lack of leadership as the main factor in the low effectiveness of regional cooperation in ASEAN. This research is expected to be a solution for completing the ATEL implementation process in that region. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.