ASEAN welcomes world leaders as China-US rivalry overshadows region | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
June 19, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2025
ASEAN welcomes world leaders as China-US rivalry overshadows region

World+Biz

Reuters
06 September, 2023, 12:10 pm
Last modified: 06 September, 2023, 12:13 pm

Related News

  • Malaysia backs Bangladesh's bid for ASEAN membership
  • CA Yunus seeks Dr Mahathir's help for Bangladesh's ASEAN membership
  • Brussels seeks companies' US spending plans as Trump hails move toward talks
  • Malaysia PM hails 'significant' engagement on Myanmar as Southeast Asian leaders meet
  • Southeast Asian leaders meet to talk tariffs, truce and East Timor

ASEAN welcomes world leaders as China-US rivalry overshadows region

Reuters
06 September, 2023, 12:10 pm
Last modified: 06 September, 2023, 12:13 pm
Philippines President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand's Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sarun Charoensuwan, Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao hold hands for a family photo before the start of the ASEAN-China Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, September 6, 2023. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/Pool
Philippines President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand's Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sarun Charoensuwan, Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao hold hands for a family photo before the start of the ASEAN-China Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, September 6, 2023. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/Pool

Southeast Asia's ASEAN bloc on Wednesday welcomed world leaders to Indonesia's capital for a summit likely to be dominated by worry about rivalry between the United States and China overshadowing the region.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which has warned of the danger of getting dragged into other powers' disputes, will gather with US Vice President Kamala Harris, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and leaders of various partner countries including Japan, South Korea, Australia, and India.

Neither US President Joe Biden nor his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, are attending the summit.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

High on the agenda is Southeast Asian concern over China's activities in the South China Sea, a strategic trade corridor where several member countries have overlapping claims with China. The bloc is keen to agree on a long-discussed code of conduct for the waterway.

The United States and its allies have echoed ASEAN's calls for freedom of navigation and overflight and to refrain from building a physical presence in the area. China has built various facilities, including runways, on tiny outcrops in the disputed waters.

"The vice president will underscore the United States' and ASEAN's shared interest in upholding the rules-based international order, including in the South China Sea, in the face of China's unlawful maritime claims and provocative actions," a White House official said on Tuesday.

Just before this week's gatherings, China released a map with its "10-dash line" delineating what it considers its waters, that appeared to expand its claims in the South China Sea.

The map was rejected by several ASEAN members.

Some ASEAN members have developed close diplomatic, business and military ties with China while others are more wary. The United States has also courted ASEAN countries with varying degrees of success.

ASEAN, in a draft of a statement it will issue this week and seen by Reuters, said it needed to "strengthen stability in the maritime sphere in our region ... and explore new initiatives towards these ends".

'GREAT DANGER'

Lina Alexandra, a political analyst at think tank CSIS, said the draft was "very weak on the issues of the South China Sea".

"This really threatens ASEAN's credibility," Alexandra said, noting that the Philippines was losing patience with ASEAN when it came to help on the South china Sea.

"If ASEAN is not useful that is a great danger, because the other option is they go up to the big powers and they bring these big powers to the region."

A source close to the matter verified the draft.

President Joko Widodo of ASEAN chair Indonesia warned on Tuesday that members must not become proxies in big-power rivalry.

Wednesday's talks follow an ASEAN-only summit this week with leaders seeking to assert the bloc's relevance in the face of criticism it is failing to press Myanmar's military leaders to cooperate on a plan for peace in their strife-torn country.

ASEAN member Myanmar has been gripped by violence since the generals overthrew an elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi in early 2021.

ASEAN has agreed on a peace plan, known as its five-point consensus, that calls for an end to violence and dialogue among all parties but the generals have paid little more than lip service to it.

Myanmar on Tuesday rejected an ASEAN call for its armed forces "in particular" to de-escalate the crisis. Myanmar also ceded to the Philippines its turn to chair the grouping in 2026.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Top News

ASEAN / ASEAN summit / world leaders

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • A drone photo shows the damage over residential homes at the impact site following missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel June 16, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Moshe Mizrahi/File Photo
    Israeli military says it targeted nuclear sites in Iran's Natanz and Arak overnight
  • Photo: Screengrab
    Enforced disappearance perpetrators still threatening victims, families: Inquiry commission chief
  • Health Minister Uriel Buso at the Knesset in Jerusalem on July 10, 2024. Photo: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90
    Israeli minister claims Iranian missile attack on hospital ‘a war crime’

MOST VIEWED

  • Logo of Beximco Group. Photo: Collected
    Beximco defaults on €33m in Germany, Deshbandhu owes Czech bank €4m
  • The India-Bangladesh integrated checkpost in Fulbari. Photo: Passang Yolmo via Telegraph India
    Import of boulders from Bhutan to Bangladesh stopped by Indian transporters in Fulbari
  • Infograph: TBS
    End of a loophole: Defaulters on foreign loans barred from local bank borrowing
  • Smoke rises following an Israeli attack on the IRIB building, the country's state broadcaster, in Tehran, Iran, June 16, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
    Israel-Iran War: Russia says Israel's attacks illegal, UAE warns of 'uncalculated, reckless steps'
  • An anti-missile system operates as missiles are launched from Iran, as seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, 18 June 2025. Photo: Reuters
    Khamenei rejects Trump's demand for surrender, Trump says 'good luck'
  • Soldiers salute Arakan Army chief Major General Twan Mrat Naing during a parade in Myanmar, 6 April 2018. File Photo: Arakan Army deputy chief Brig Gen Nyo Twan Awng/Twitter
    Rohingya militant groups recruit from camps to fight Arakan Army, warns Crisis Group

Related News

  • Malaysia backs Bangladesh's bid for ASEAN membership
  • CA Yunus seeks Dr Mahathir's help for Bangladesh's ASEAN membership
  • Brussels seeks companies' US spending plans as Trump hails move toward talks
  • Malaysia PM hails 'significant' engagement on Myanmar as Southeast Asian leaders meet
  • Southeast Asian leaders meet to talk tariffs, truce and East Timor

Features

Evacuation of Bangladeshis: Where do they go next from conflict-ridden Iran?

Evacuation of Bangladeshis: Where do they go next from conflict-ridden Iran?

16h | Panorama
The Kallyanpur Canal is burdened with more than 600,000 kilograms of waste every month. Photo: Courtesy

Kallyanpur canal project shows how to combat plastic pollution in Dhaka

1d | Panorama
The GLS600 overall has a curvaceous nature, with seamless blends across every panel. PHOTO: Arfin Kazi

Mercedes Maybach GLS600: Definitive Luxury

3d | Wheels
Renowned authors Imdadul Haque Milon, Mohit Kamal, and poet–children’s writer Rashed Rouf seen at Current Book Centre, alongside the store's proprietor, Shahin. Photo: Collected

From ‘Screen and Culture’ to ‘Current Book House’: Chattogram’s oldest surviving bookstore

3d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Will the US be able to overthrow the Iranian government? What does history say?

Will the US be able to overthrow the Iranian government? What does history say?

1h | TBS World
From Local to Global: The World Burns in the Fire of Conflict

From Local to Global: The World Burns in the Fire of Conflict

2h | TBS World
What's going on in Netanyahu's head behind the regime change story?

What's going on in Netanyahu's head behind the regime change story?

16h | TBS World
The type of bomb the US could use if Trump attacks Iran

The type of bomb the US could use if Trump attacks Iran

16h | TBS World
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net