47th ASEAN Summit begins in Malaysia; PM Modi to join virtually

Kuala Lumpur, Oct 26 (IANS) The 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and related summits began in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Sunday under the theme "Inclusivity and Sustainability."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not travel to Malaysia but instead attend the ASEAN summit virtually on Sunday.

In a social media post on Thursday, PM Modi said that he held a conversation with his Malaysian counterpart, Anwar Ibrahim and congratulated him on Malaysia assuming the ASEAN Chairmanship.

The Prime Minister also conveyed his wishes for the success of the upcoming Summits and reaffirmed his commitment to further deepening the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will host leaders from ASEAN member states, along with top officials from the US, China, Japan, South Korea, and other key partners, for the three-day summit held from October 26-28.

More than 30 heads of state and government from the 10 member states of the association, commonly referred to as ASEAN, are invited.

Among the invitees from outside the bloc is US President Donald Trump.

More than 10,000 police officers have been deployed to the Malaysian capital to secure the meetings, which begin on Sunday and run through Tuesday.

Trump will attend a dinner with ASEAN leaders and is expected to witness the signing of a peace accord between Cambodia and Thailand, following deadly border clashes in July that ended after Anwar mediated a ceasefire.

Among those attending are South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japan's first female Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon are also taking part.

From ASEAN, Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, and Timor-Leste's President Jose Ramos-Horta are among those expected.

Timor-Leste, or East Timor, is set to officially become the bloc's 11th member during the summit.

Representatives from the UN, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and other global organisations, are also expected to attend, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will join the meetings virtually. European Council President Antonio Costa will also be among the attendees.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Myanmar's acting President Senior General Min Aung Hlaing will not attend. Russia will instead be represented by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.

ASEAN has decided not to extend an invitation to participate in summits to Myanmar's military leadership since the February 2021 coup.

In addition to internal meetings, ASEAN will hold summit-level discussions with key dialogue partners, including the US, China, and Japan.

ASEAN, a regional organisation founded in Bangkok on August 8, 1967, consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar, who is hosting the summit, has expressed expectations that the ASEAN meetings will result in "positive" outcomes, with Trump's tariffs on US allies and foes being a central topic.

On regional trade, Anwar has emphasised the importance of the world's largest trade deal -- the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) -- which includes China, as it covers nearly one-third of global GDP and trade.

He has expressed Malaysia's hopes to expand RCEP membership and explore ways to enhance trade.

The plight of one of the world's most persecuted communities, the Rohingya in Myanmar, which is witnessing internal ethnic strife, will also be on the agenda alongside possible discussions regarding the tensions in the disputed South China Sea.

ASEAN is additionally expected to issue a statement on the situation in Gaza, where a ceasefire between Israeli forces and Hamas has been in place since October 10.

The ASEAN summit will discuss pressing issues like US tariffs and access to rare earth minerals, which are essential to high-tech manufacturing and whose production is dominated by China.

Trump launched his "Liberation Day Tariffs" in April against most US trading partners in a bid to lower the US trade deficit. After much negotiation, US tariffs for most ASEAN countries range from 10 to 20 per cent while Brunei's tariff rate is 25 per cent. Tariffs for Laos and Myanmar are both 40 per cent.

In response to Trump's tariffs, China has tightened export restrictions on rare earths, a move that has been felt around the world.

Attendees are also expected to discuss pressing issues like Myanmar's civil war and the proliferation of scam centres in Southeast Asia, which have earned criminal networks tens of billions of dollars.

--IANS

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