ASEAN needs to be ‘united’ but ‘flexible’ in facing Trump tariff threats, say Southeast Asian leaders

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said multilateralism and globalisation are “on the retreat” with questions over what the “new global order would look like”.

“We should explore new partnerships, because, despite all the issues that we face in the world, Asia remains at the centre of global growth,” he said.

“In the region, countries like China, Japan, Korea, India would be keen to do more with us,” Wong added.

SOUTH CHINA SEA TENSIONS, MYANMAR CONFLICT

Trade was not the only issue on the agenda of the ASEAN Summit, where leaders met for a plenary meeting followed by a more free-flowing retreat, both behind closed doors.

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Monday called on the bloc to accelerate the adoption of a legally binding code of conduct in the South China Sea, ABS-CBN news reported.

China claims most of the strategic and resource-rich waterways as its own, while several ASEAN members including the Philippines have overlapping claims.

Negotiations on the code of conduct have been ongoing since the early 2000s as a way to manage tensions in the South China Sea, but progress has been slow.

Maritime clashes between China and the Philippines have escalated in recent months, although Marcos was “very optimistic” about a conclusion to negotiations on the code, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

On Monday, Marcos underscored the need for the peaceful resolution of disputes and maritime cooperation in order to maintain regional stability, ABS-CBN reported.

He called for deeper regional cooperation on emerging and transboundary challenges including climate change and transnational crime.