How about having Maritime South East Asia Imperialists take over the rest of the world instead? After all, records indicate that Arab or Indian traders introduced gunpowder, gonnes, muskets, blunderbusses, and cannons to the Javanese, Acehnese, and Batak via long established commercial trade routes around the early to mid 14th century, around the same time as or earlier than it was introduced in Europe.The resurgent Singhasari Empire overtook Sriwijaya and later emerged as the Majapahit, due largely to its unique mastery of bronze-smithing and use of a central arsenal fed by a large number of cottage industries within the immediate region, and their warfare featured the widespread use of fire-arms and cannonade; Portuguese and Spanish invaders were unpleasantly surprised, and even admitted that they were outgunned by them on numerous occasions; but as firearms technology advanced more rapidly in Europe due to the most tumultuous, war-ridden state of affairs there, by the time that the Majapahit Empire fell in the early 16th century, the Indonesians had lost their early lead, with the newly arrived Portuguese iron firearms deemed to be superior to that of the locally made bronze variants. Javanese bronze breech-loaded swivel-guns, known as meriam, or erroneously as lantaka, were still used widely by the Majapahit navy until its demise, as well as by pirates and rival lords; and the dispersal of disaffected skilled bronze cannon-smiths to Brunei, modern Sumatra, Malaysia and the Philippines led to the technology seeing widespread use, especially in the Makassar Strait.
So then, here's my suggestion, which may seem somewhat oxymoronic at first glance: bring about the demise and decline of the Majapahit Empire earlier, with its purported empire of 98 tributaries in the late 14th century (after its rapid expansion and series of conquests using its early dominance in the field of fledgling gunpowder warfare) splintering away. Let's say that the Kingdom of Singapura holds out against the Mahapajit Imperial force's siege behind its impregnable walls; or that Sang Rajuna Tapa, an official in King Iskandar Shah's court, who reportedly secretly sent a message to the king of Majapahit pledging his support should the king choose to invade Singapura, seeking his own personal revenge against the king after his daughter, one of the king's concubines, had been accused of adultery and stripped naked in public, fails to get the message delivered to King Wikramawardhana.
Then, in 1404, the Majapahit Civil War kicks off, between the two contestants for the throne- the former king's nephew, son-in-law and designated heir Bhre Wikramawardhana, and the former' king's eldest son by one of his concubines, 'Bhre Wirabhumi' (true name unknown- simply 'the Duke of Wirabhumi'). In 1402, they became involved in a bitter quarrel, and after that they shunned each other and refused to talk. In 1403, through a dangerous gamble of power, Wirabhumi sought military assistance from the Chinese court against the Majapahit court; the Chinese Imperial court responded by recognizing his province's independence from the Majapahit Empire as the revived Kingdom of Blambangan, and in exchange Bhre Wirabhumi accepted a seal, commission, and other insignia of Chinese suzerainty over his land. This action would lead to the outbreak of a larger 'Paregreg War' (meaning slowly developed or step-by-step, indicating that there were many battles fought between the two sides, with both sides losing and winning significant battles) in 1404. But in 1406 IOTL, the western troops, led by Bhre Tumapel, Wikramawardhana's son, managed to penetrate as far as the Blambagan capital of Lumajang; Bhre Wirabhumi was defeated, and attempted to flee using a boat during the night, but was chased down and killed, with his head brought back to the Majapahit capital of Wilwatikta, and his daughter Bhre Daha brought back to be taken by King Wikramawardhana as a concubine, cementing his rule and ending the civil war within two years.
But still, even with such a speedy victory IOTL, the war crippled the Majapahit Empire; by 1405, West Borneo was held under Chinese influence, with rebellions seeing the city states of Palembang, Malayu, and Malacca break away (all of which would later go on to grow into thriving ports, independent from the Majapahit), while in northern Borneo, the Brunei Kingdom also liberated themselves from Javanese overlordship in 1406. And from then on, the Majapahit's technological advancement and military development stagnated, retarding Maritime SE Asia as a whole. But If Bhre Wirabhumi had won, forced peace by defeating the forces led by the crown prince Tumapel, or even simply held out for another year or two, the Majapahit Empire would have come to an end a full century earlier. And in the period of war and conflict which followed, you could see an arms race and trading race between the competing independent kingdoms of the region analogous to that going on over in Europe, driving firearms development along with the incentives for exploration and overseas colonization (with maritime development and the construction of more powerful naval armadas even more important here than it could ever be in the seas of Europe), resulting in South-East Asia being poorer than it was IOTL, but also resulting in them retaining their naval and military technological leads over the Europeans, as well as increasing their jingoism and resilience. And that increased jingoism and desperation would make it more likely for South-East Asian Kingdoms to fund expeditions, and to invest in colonial schemes further afield in order to acquire prestige, much-needed revenue, resources and territory, giving them the edge over their rival neighboring kingdoms. If one of them manages to round the Cape of Good Hope before the Europeans ITTL, and they establish a significant settlement (or settlements) there before the Europeans do, then they'll be cutting off the Europeans' sea route to India and the East, potentially dealing a death-blow to the Europeans' hopes of ruling the East in their infancy, and securing full control over the Indian Ocean (and potentially the Pacific as well) for themselves.