The meeting comes against the backdrop of a diplomatic spat between Vietnam, Cambodia and Singapore over Vietnam’s 1978 military incursion into Cambodia. South-east Asian leaders will discuss regional economic integration, for example through the ASEAN Single Window (ASW) trade facility and the ASEAN-centred Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade pact.
ASEAN members will aim to capitalise on shifting regional supply chains precipitated by the US-China trade dispute.
ASEAN and China may next month complete the first reading of the single draft negotiating text for a South China Sea Code of Conduct.
An upcoming ASEAN assessment of the Rohingya crisis will do little to stem global criticism of Myanmar’s treatment of the minority group.
