Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Smoke from trash burning in a village outside the Lao UNESCO heritage site of Luang Prabang joins the heavy haze over much of inland Southeast Asia due to crop and waste burning, Saturday, April 6, 2024. ASEAN finance ministers met in Luang Prabang this week to discuss economic and financial issues including ways to help finance reductions in carbon emissions that contribute to global warming. (AP Photo/Elaine Kurtenbach)

ASEAN finance leaders end meetings in Laos, pointing to challenges from geopolitics, volatile prices

Southest Asian finance ministers and central bank governors have ended meetings in the Laotian city of Luang Prabang citing progress in building stronger regional institutions, but also noting serious challenges due to geopolitical tensions and volatile commodity prices.
 
A farmer tends their fields in stifling temperatures as surrounding hills are choked by smoke from field and hill fires across the region, Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Luang Prabang, Laos. Financial officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations were meeting in the city to discuss ways to secure financing to help shift to more sustainable and less polluting agriculture and energy. (AP Photo/Elaine Kurtenbach)

Southeast Asian countries consider ways to boost ‘green financing’ as region chokes on smog

 
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at a joint press conference with the Prime Minister of Lao, Sonexay Siphandone, at the conclusion of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)

Southeast Asian leaders call for South China Sea disputes to be resolved without threats or force

 
The Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong gestures duirng. Ajoint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese following a bilateral meeting at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)

Singapore’s prime minister says a South China Sea code of conduct will take time

 
FILE - From left to right, Philippine's President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, head of Thailand's delegation Sarun Charoensuwan, Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, 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 as they pose for a family photo during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Australia Summit, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. The ASEAN-Australia Special Summit that starts in Melbourne on Monday, March 4, 2024, marks 50 years since Australia became the first official partner of the Asian bloc. (Willy Kurniawan/Pool Photo via AP, File)

China and Myanmar likely to be high on the agenda when Southeast Asian leaders meet in Australia

 

Thailand sends trucks carrying humanitarian aid to war-torn Myanmar

Thailand delivered its first batch of humanitarian aid to war-torn Myanmar on Monday, in what officials hope will be a continuing effort to ease the plight of millions of people displaced by fighting. (March 25). (AP Video: Jerry Harmer)
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Southeast Asian leaders pat and feed koala at ASEAN Australia Summit retreat

Southeast Asian leaders meet at special ASEAN-Australia Summit in Melbourne

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FILE - A man looks on at homes destroyed after air and artillery strikes in Mung Lai Hkyet displacement camp, in Laiza, Myanmar, on Oct. 10, 2023. When the army moved to overthrow Myanmar's elected government in the early hours of Feb. 1, 2021, to overthrow the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, it looked like a walkover that could entrench the military in power indefinitely. Three years later, a poorly armed but popular and politically savvy grassroots resistance movement has shaken the military’s grip, in a modern-day David vs. Goliath scenario, but the costs have been high. (AP Photo, File)

9 UN Security Council members urge a halt to airstrikes by Myanmar’s military

Nine members of the United Nations Security Council have condemned “indiscriminate” airstrikes by Myanmar’s military against civilians.
 
Representatives pose for a group photo during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers retreat meeting in Luang Prabang, Laos, Monday, Jan. 29, 2024. From left, Myanmar's ASEAN Permanent Secretary Marlar Than Htike, Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Theresa Lazaro, Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, Vietnam's Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, Laos' Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith, Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan, Brunei's Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof, Cambodia's Foreign Minister Sok Chenda Sophea, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, East Timor's Foreign Minister Bendito dos Santos Freitas and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Southeast Asian nations cautiously optimistic of progress on Myanmar and South China Sea conflicts

China’s increasingly assertive posture in the South China Sea and escalating violence in Myanmar have topped the agenda for Southeast Asian diplomats in Laos, with the Laotian foreign minister expressing guarded optimism that progress could be made this year on both acrimonious issues.
 
A Chinese high-speed train moves across a bridge over the Mekong River, north of the Laotian city of Luang Prabang on Dec. 12, 2023. Laos has grown increasingly beholden to its giant neighbor to the north with massive amounts of debt to Chinese state banks for multiple infrastructure projects, including a new high-speed rail line across the country, said Muhammad Faizal, with the Institute of Defense and Strategic studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. (AP Photo/David Rising)

Tensions simmering in the South China Sea and violence in Myanmar as Laos takes over ASEAN chair

Simmering tensions in the South China Sea. Coordinated attacks on the military run government that seized control of Myanmar.
 
In this photo released from Myanmar Military True News Information Team, Min Aung Hlaing, right, the head of ruling military council, talks with Alounkeo Kittikhoun, left, special envoy of ASEAN Chairman, during their meeting Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. A veteran Laotian diplomat recently appointed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' special envoy to Myanmar, has arrived on his first mission to the strife-torn nation. (The Military True News Information Team via AP)

A veteran diplomat from Laos, the new ASEAN special envoy for Myanmar, embarks on inaugural mission

A veteran Laotian diplomat recently appointed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ special envoy to Myanmar, has arrived on his first mission to the strife-torn nation.
 
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, left, greets Indonesia's President Joko Widodo upon arrival for the opening session of ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit Meeting at the Hotel Okura Tokyo in Tokyo Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. (Kazuhiro Nogi/Pool Photo via AP)

Japan and ASEAN bolster ties at a summit focused on security and economy amid tensions with China

Leaders from Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have adopted a joint vision at special summit in Tokyo.
 
From left, Brunei's Second Minister of Defense Halbi Mohd Yusof, Cambodia's Defense Minister Tea Seiha, Laos' Defense Minister Chansamone Chanyalath, Malaysia's Defense Minister Mohamad Hasan, Philippine's Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Indonesia's Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, Singapore's Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen, Thailand's Defense Minister Sutin Klungsang, Vietnam's Defense Minister Phan Van Giang, East Timor's Defense Minister Donaciano Do Rosario Da Costa Gomes and ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn hold hands as they pose for a family photo during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023. (Mast Irham/Pool Photo via AP)

ASEAN defense chiefs call for the fighting in Gaza to cease but struggle to address Myanmar violence

Southeast Asian defense ministers have called for an end to the Israel-Hamas war and for the world to collaborate on setting up humanitarian aid corridors in Gaza.
 
Indonesian President Joko Widodo takes a selfie with the media during a press conference at the end of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

After summit joined by China, US and Russia, Indonesia’s leader warns of protracted conflicts

Indonesia’s president has issued a stark warning after wrapping up a summit of Southeast Asian countries that was joined by China, the United States and Russia.
 
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres gestures as he speaks to the media during a press conference on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

A unified strategy and more funding are urgently needed to end the crisis in Myanmar, UN chief says

The United Nations chief has renewed an urgent call on the international community to seek a unified strategy to end the worsening crisis in Myanmar.
 
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-U.S. Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, Pool)

In Southeast Asia, Kamala Harris is at the center of White House efforts to counterbalance China

Vice President Kamala Harris is headed back to Washington after her trip to Southeast Asia. Harris traveled for more than a day to reach this year’s summit of Southeast Asian nations, where she was tasked with strengthening ties in a region crucial to U.S. interests.
 
China's Premier Li Qiang speaks at the 26th ASEAN-China Summit during the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/Pool Photo via AP)

China’s premier is on a charm offensive as ASEAN summit protests Beijing’s aggression at sea

In talks with Southeast Asian leaders Wednesday in the Indonesian capital, Chinese Premier Li Qiang underscored his country’s importance as the world’s second-biggest economy and as the top trading partner of the region.
 
From left to right, Thailand's Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sarun Charoensuwan, Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet leave the stage after a group photo before the start of the retreat session at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, Pool)

Myanmar won’t be allowed to lead Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2026, in blow to generals

Myanmar won’t take over the rotating leadership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as scheduled in 2026, in the latest blow to efforts by its ruling generals to gain international recognition after violently seizing power in 2021.
 
FILE - Vice President Kamala Harris, right, next to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, speaks during a plenary session of the US-ASEAN Summit, May 13, 2022, at the State Department in Washington. Harris is visiting Indonesia this week for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Vice President Harris will face doubts and dysfunction at the Southeast Asian nations summit

Vice President Kamala Harris has left Washington for Indonesia, where she’ll attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit.
 
From left to right, Malaysia's Foreign Minister Zambry Abd Kadir, Philippines' Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo, Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Thailand's Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sarun Charoensuwan, Vietnam's Deputy Foreign Minister Do Hung Viet, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Laos' Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith, Brunei's Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof, Cambodia's Foreign Minister Sok Chenda Sophea, East Timor's Foreign Minister Bendito dos Santos Freitas, and ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn, pose for a family photo during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting ahead of the ASEAN Summit, at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Sept. 4, 2023. (Bay Ismoyo/Pool Photo via AP)

Southeast Asian leaders are besieged by thorny issues as they hold an ASEAN summit without Biden

Southeast Asian leaders led by Indonesian host President Joko Widodo are gathering in their final summit this year.
 
FILE - South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during the ASEAN Plus Three Summits (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Nov. 12, 2022. Yoon says he’ll tell world leaders about the need to faithfully enforce U.N. sanctions on North Korea and block the country’s illicit activities to fund its weapons programs when they converge in Indonesia and India for annual summits this week. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)

South Korea’s Yoon will call for strong response to North’s nuclear weapons at ASEAN and G20 summits

South Korea’s president says he’ll tell world leaders about the need to faithfully enforce U.N. sanctions on North Korea when they converge in Indonesia and India for annual summits this week.
 
In this handout photo provided by the Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia/ Department of Information Malaysia, Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, right, talks with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in Putrajaya, Malaysia on Wednesday July 26, 2023. (Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia/ Department of Information Malaysia via AP)

ASEAN states should engage bilaterally with Myanmar to resolve crisis, Malaysian leader says

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says Southeast Asian countries should be given some latitude to engage informally with Myanmar on an individual basis to help resolve a deepening crisis there.
 
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference with European Union at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, July 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, Pool)

EU rejects Myanmar’s diplomatic role and says it still doesn’t recognize generals

The European Union’s top diplomat has expressed opposition to Myanmar’s upcoming role as overseer of relations between the 27-nation bloc and Southeast Asian nations and reasserted its non-recognition of the strife-torn nation’s military government.
 
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi applauds during the opening of the Meeting of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Commission at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Minister's Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, July 11, 2023. (Adi Weda/Pool Photo via AP)

Indonesia warns nuclear weapons put Southeast Asia a ‘miscalculation away’ from a catastrophe

Indonesia’s top diplomat is warning of the threat posed by nuclear weapons, saying that Southeast Asia is “one miscalculation away from apocalypse” and pressing for world powers to sign a treaty to keep the region free from such arms.
 
A pedestrian passes by a sign of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, July 10, 2023. Myanmar's prolonged civil strife, tensions in the disputed South China Sea and concern over arms buildups in the region are expected to dominate the agenda when Southeast Asia's top diplomats gather for talks this week in Indonesia. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Myanmar violence and sea disputes to dominate ASEAN talks joined by US, Russian and Chinese envoys

Myanmar’s prolonged civil strife, tensions in the disputed South China Sea and concern over arms buildups in the region are expected to dominate the agenda when Southeast Asia’s top diplomats gather for talks this week in Indonesia.
 

Thailand’s caretaker government criticized for holding meeting to discuss military-ruled Myanmar

Thailand is hosting a meeting of neighboring countries to discuss the violent political deadlock in Myanmar, an initiative that has been criticized for potentially undermining regional peace efforts and for being carried out by a caretaker government.
 
The chair reserved for Myanmar's leader is left unoccupied during the retreat session at the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Thursday, May 11, 2023. (Mast Irham/Pool Photo via AP)

ASEAN leader: No progress in ending Myanmar’s deadly civil strife

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has somberly acknowledged to fellow Southeast Asian leaders that no progress has been made to end the civil strife gripping Myanmar.
 
Indonesia President Joko Widodo, center, opens the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, Pool)

ASEAN leaders condemn attack on aid convoy in Myanmar

Southeast Asian leaders have condemned an attack on an aid convoy that the regional group arranged for displaced people in Myanmar.
 
Indonesian Air Force commandos patrol Komodo Airport ahead of the 42nd Southeast the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. (Willy Kurniawan/Pool Photo via AP)

Myanmar violence, sea feud are tough challenges for ASEAN

Alarm over Myanmar’s still-unfolding deadly civil strife, including an armed attack on an aid convoy, and China’s aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea are expected to challenge Southeast Asian leaders’ commitments to non-interference and consensus decision-making as they meet in Indone
 

ASEAN relief convoy attacked in Myanmar; no casualties

BANGKOK (AP) — A convoy including diplomats representing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on a mission to provide humanitarian assistance to displaced people in strife-torn Myanmar has been ambushed, state media and a member of an ethnic minority militia said Monday.
 
Indonesian police K9 patrol in front of Meruorah hotel in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Monday, May 8, 2023. Indonesian President Joko Widodo will host fellow leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this week in their annual summit in Labuan Bajo. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

ASEAN leaders to tackle regional crises at tropical resort

Southeast Asian leaders are meeting at a picturesque tourist destination with sun-splashed tropical islands to tackle regional crises.
 
FILE - May Sabe Phyu, prominent human tights activist and wife of Patrick Kum Ja Lee, speaks to journalists after Patrick was convicted in Yangon, Myanmar, Jan. 22, 2016. Human rights activists including Phyu urged the U.N. Security Council on Monday, March 13, 2023 to refer Myanmar's military rulers to the International Criminal Court and urged neighboring Southeast Asian countries to support the opposition pro-democracy movement. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe, File)

Activists urge UN Security Council to refer Myanmar to court

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Human rights activists urged the U.N. Security Council on Monday to refer Myanmar’s military rulers to the International Criminal Court and urged neighboring Southeast Asian countries to support the opposition pro-democracy movement.
 
Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim flashes the thumbs-up sign after he is conferred a Doctor of Laws degree, honoris causa during rites at the University of the Philippines in Quezon city, Philippines on Thursday March 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Malaysia’s Anwar urges ASEAN to speak up on Myanmar violence

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to speak up and hold Myanmar’s military leaders accountable for blatant human rights violations, but said the country should remain in the regional bloc.
 
Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, left, and Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha arrive to review an honor guard during a welcoming ceremony at the Government House in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Malaysian leader wants tougher ASEAN pressure on Myanmar

BANGKOK (AP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Friday issued a strong call for fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to take new measures to pressure the government of military-ruled Myanmar to end what he called “atrocities” against its own people.
 
From left to right; Malaysian Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir, Philippine's Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo, Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Thailand's Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, Vietnam's Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Laotian Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith, Brunei's Second Minister of Foreign Affair Erywan Yusof, Cambodia's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, East Timor's Foreign Minister Adaljiza Magno and ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn pose for a group photo during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers retreat in Jakarta, Indonesia, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

ASEAN vows to conclude pact with China on disputed territory

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Southeast Asian foreign ministers vowed to finalize negotiations with China over a proposed pact aimed at preventing conflicts in the disputed South China Sea in their annual retreat on Saturday in Indonesia’s capital.
 
From left to right; Malaysian Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir, Philippine's Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo, Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Thailand's Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, Vietnam's Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Laotian Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith, Brunei's Second Minister of Foreign Affair Erywan Yusof, Cambodia's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, East Timor's Foreign Minister Adaljiza Magno and ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn hold hands as they pose for a group photo during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Coordinating Council Meeting at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023. Southeast Asian foreign ministers are meeting in Indonesia's capital Friday for talks bound to be dominated by the deteriorating situation in Myanmar despite an agenda focused on food and energy security and cooperation in finance and health. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

ASEAN ministers urge reduced violence, dialogue in Myanmar

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Southeast Asian foreign ministers urged Myanmar’s military rulers on Friday to reduce violence and allow unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to pave the way for a national dialogue aimed at ending the country’s worsening crisis.
 
Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, right, speaks with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, center, as they attend a round table meeting during the EU-ASEAN summit in Brussels, Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022. EU and ASEAN leaders meet in Brussels for a one day summit to discuss the EU-ASEAN strategic partnership, trade relations and various international topics. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, Pool)

Europe hosts southeast Asian leaders as own crises mount

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union and southeast Asian countries commemorated 45 years of diplomatic ties Wednesday at a summit overshadowed by political distractions in Europe, ranging from the war in Ukraine to a bribery scandal.
 
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