As an ASEAN-hosted summit in Indonesia reached its final day, world leaders were preparing for a series of sessions on security and trade against a backdrop of simmering tensions and open confrontations in certain areas of the world.
World leaders talk trade: US Vice President Kamala Harris, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, along with leaders of partner nations Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and others, are attending the summit organized by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Talks on everything from trade and technology to China’s growing aggressiveness in the South China Sea, the Myanmar junta’s refusal to work with ASEAN on a peace plan, and suspicions that North Korea intends to supply Russia with weapons have been accompanied by an underlying tension.
China’s Li cautioned nations on Wednesday against igniting a “new Cold War” and advised them against choosing sides in any confrontation.
President Joe Biden was unable to attend the meetings, but Harris spoke in his place and reaffirmed US commitment to the area. She declared, “The United States has a long-standing commitment to Southeast Asia and, more broadly, to the Indo-Pacific.”
In the past, a White House representative stated that the US and ASEAN had common interests 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”.
Additionally, On Wednesday, the prime ministers of China and Japan briefly met outside the summit to discuss Japan’s release of radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear facility into the sea after treating it.
In retaliation, a furious China has put a ban on all imports of aquatic life from Japan.
Further, If the two will meet separately on Thursday, it remained unclear.
On Thursday, Laos will officially take over as the chair of the 10-member ASEAN, while Indonesia will continue to hold the position until the end of the year.