ASEAN Leaders Open Manila Summit as Trump Prepares a Short Visit
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Southeast Asian leaders opened their annual summit in the Philippine capital, Manila, on Sunday for three days of talks, The Associated Press reported. The agenda is led by the world's most troubling conflicts, including the war in the Middle East, according to drafts of post-summit statements the AP has seen.
U.S. President Donald Trump is due to join later in the week, on a trip the AP said could help his standing after his party's defeat in the midterm elections.
What is on the agenda?
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, is an 11-nation bloc. Its leaders are likely to renew calls for self-restraint and peaceful resolution of conflicts, including long-running disputes in the South China Sea and the civil war in Myanmar, the AP reported. They are also expected to push for ways to shield their economies and citizens from the fallout of global conflicts.
A draft statement says the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to international law, including the United Nations Charter. It also stresses peaceful settlement of disputes, freedom of navigation and overflight, and the right of transit passage through straits used for international shipping.
What did the host say?
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told fellow leaders in his opening remarks that it matters that the diverse bloc has stayed committed to unity. He said global problems are “reshaping our region faster than any one country can respond to alone.” He listed geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, new technologies, climate change and cross-border threats among the pressures.
The AP noted that unity has been hard to achieve in ASEAN, a mix of democracies and authoritarian states, many aligned with either the United States or China. The bloc is better known for photo opportunities and pageantry than for resolving regional conflicts, the AP said.
When does Trump arrive, and what will he do?
According to Philippine officials, Trump is expected to land in Manila with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday afternoon. By then the main ASEAN meetings will have ended, and Marcos will have handed the bloc's rotating annual leadership to Singapore.
Late Tuesday, Trump will join three key meetings, including one of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which groups the United States, Japan, Australia and India and is widely seen as a counterweight to China. He will also take part in a special summit with ASEAN leaders over cocktails.
On Wednesday he will meet Marcos, who will welcome him with a red carpet and a state luncheon at the presidential palace. The two are expected to renew a commitment to their countries' decades-old treaty alliance. They will then fly separately to Shenzhen, China, for the APEC summit hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Why does it matter?
The summit is where a bloc of 11 countries, many caught between Washington and Beijing, tries to show a common front on security and trade disruptions that affect their economies and citizens. Greg Poling, a U.S.-based geopolitical analyst, told the AP the short Manila stop will help reassure allies and partners that they are not being forgotten before Trump turns to his meetings with Xi.
Poling added that the Republican midterm setback will follow Trump in Asia. He said the administration has been trying to lower expectations in China, that no substantive progress is likely between Trump and Xi, and that the Chinese side may be even less willing to compromise with Trump politically weakened.
China will be represented in Manila by Premier Li Qiang, who will meet ASEAN leaders on Monday but leave before Trump arrives, according to Philippine officials.
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