Latest news with #AssociationofSouth-EastAsianNations
The Star
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Asean reaffirms neutrality, sustainability, and unity amid global uncertainty
JAKARTA (Bernama-Xinhua): Member states of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) are striving to uphold neutrality, promote diplomacy, and accelerate sustainability efforts amid intensifying global tensions and environmental challenges, Asean Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn said on Friday. Speaking at the 58th Asean Day Celebration, held under the theme "Toward an Inclusive and Sustainable Asean Future" at the Asean Secretariat Office in Jakarta, Kao emphasised that Asean's principled neutrality and commitment to dialogue can serve as a stabilising force in a volatile world. "In uncertain times, we must remain a steady and stabilising force, offering space for honest dialogue, practical cooperation, and principled neutrality, where differences can be bridged and solutions be found," he said. "Even amid tensions close to home, we are guided by the belief that diplomacy and dialogue pave the way to a lasting peace," Kao noted. He said that beyond geopolitics, the region faces urgent environmental challenges. Climate change, natural disasters, and resource scarcity are already profoundly affecting Asean countries. In response, Asean is advancing several major initiatives, including long-standing cooperation on transboundary haze, the establishment of the Asean Centre for Climate Change in Brunei Darussalam, efforts to build a regional power grid known as the Asean Power Grid, and accelerating a renewable energy transition. "These reflect a growing resolve to confront the climate crisis together. Sustainability also encompasses economic resilience, diversifying supply chains, enhancing food and energy security, and building smart, green infrastructure that will support future generations," he said. "Asean cannot afford to treat sustainability as an abstract ideal or a future concern. It must be a concrete, urgent strategy embedded in everything we do," he added. Representing President Prabowo Subianto at the celebration, Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono reiterated Indonesia's commitment to strengthening Asean as a peaceful, resilient, innovative, and people-oriented region. He said that unity is key to Asean's strength amid current geopolitical rivalries, stressing that disputes must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. - Xinhua
Qatar Tribune
28-07-2025
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Thailand, Cambodia leaders agree ‘immediate & unconditional' truce
dpa Bangkok The premiers of Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to implement an immediate ceasefire following days of deadly border clashes, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Monday after hosting talks between the two nations. The 'immediate and unconditional ceasefire' is set to take effect at midnight (1700 GMT), Anwar said. It was agreed upon at a special meeting between Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai interim Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai in the Malaysian administrative capital Putrajaya. Representatives from the United Sates and China also participated in the talks. In a joint statement, the ceasefire was described as 'a vital first step towards de-escalation and the restoration of peace and security.' Military leaders from both countries are expected to meet for talks on Tuesday. A meeting of the General Border Committee, a bilateral body for cooperation on border issues, is planned for August 4. Both sides also expressed their willingness to resume direct communication between their governments. Heavy fighting erupted between the two neighbouring countries on Thursday along their more than 800-kilometre border. The conflict has been simmering for decades. Both sides have reported casualties and injuries, and more than 200,000 people have fled the region. Overnight, heavy fighting was reported again. What exactly triggered the escalation remains unclear. International pressure International pressure on Bangkok and Phnom Penh to end the fighting had been growing ahead of the meeting, with US President Donald Trump holding phone calls with both premiers to push for an end to the conflict. Shortly before the talks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for an 'immediate ceasefire' on X. Malaysia as mediator Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar had already spoken with his counterparts from Thailand and Cambodia shortly after the fighting began and offered himself as a mediator. Malaysia holds the chair of Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year. Since the beginning of the clashes, both sides have accused each other of triggering the violence. Civilian buildings, including a hospital and a supermarket, were also hit in the attacks. Thailand used fighter jets to target military positions, while Cambodia fired rockets across the border. The dispute further escalated after a shootout between soldiers from both countries at the end of May, in which a Cambodian soldier was killed. Recently, Cambodia's Ministry of Defence accused Thailand of also using chemical weapons. The Foreign Ministry in Bangkok denied this, calling them 'baseless accusations' and 'disinformation' aimed at deliberately undermining Thailand's reputation in the international community.
AU Financial Review
28-07-2025
- Politics
- AU Financial Review
Thai, Cambodian leaders hold peace talks as Trump weighs in
Bangkok | Thai and Cambodian leaders were set for talks on Monday to halt the deadliest clash between the neighbours in more than a decade, with the US and China sending envoys after President Donald Trump used tariff threats to press for a ceasefire. Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet were scheduled to meet in Kuala Lumpur at 3pm local time (5pm AEST), according to Thai government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub. The gathering was scheduled for the office of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who's facilitating the dialogue in his role as the chair of the Association of South-East Asian Nations.
The Star
11-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
US, China envoys to meet in possible prelude to Trump-Xi summit
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with his Chinese counterpart at a summit in Kuala Lumpur on Friday (July 11), the first in-person session between the two and a possible prelude to a presidential summit. The top American envoy is scheduled to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Kuala Lumpur at 3pm local time, according to Rubio's public schedule. Both officials are attending a gathering of the Association of South-East Asian Nations, which ends Friday. The meeting will be among the highest-level sitdowns between the two countries since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. A positive conversation between the top envoys will increase the chance of a leadership summit that may further ease tensions following their trade truce, although many points of friction remain. Rubio told reporters Thursday that he would raise Chinese support for Russia in any meeting with Wang. "The Chinese clearly have been supportive of the Russian effort, and I think that generally they've been willing to help them as much as they can without getting caught,' he said after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Beijing's economic and diplomatic backing for Moscow after it invaded Ukraine is just one of many sticking points in relations between the world's two largest economies. In their last phone call, in January, Rubio raised concerns about China's behaviour toward Taiwan and the South China Sea, while Wang warned the US to handle Taiwan-related matters carefully. Trump has said he would like to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping this year, and a senior Chinese official last week expressed optimism over bilateral ties. In a phone conversation in early June, Xi invited Trump to visit China. The US administration has been reaching out to business executives to weigh interest in accompanying him on a possible trip to China this year, Bloomberg News reported last week. In February, Wang travelled to New York for a United Nations Security Council meeting, but no bilateral meeting with the Trump administration took place. In the following weeks, a series of tit-for-tat measures saw US tariffs on Chinese products jump to as high as 145% before it was suspended for 90 days after negotiations in May. "Considering that Trump seems to be toying with the idea of meeting Xi on the sidelines of the Apec summit, or even in Beijing possibly in early September, the two senior diplomats of both countries could explore whether this is a promising course of action and could smooth feathers a bit to get there,' said Klaus Larres, professor of history and international affairs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The US and China both belong to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, a regional forum that leaders of the two nations have used as an opportunity to meet in recent years. South Korea is hosting the forum this year at the end of October and start of November. Signs have emerged in recent weeks that both sides are beginning to deliver on promises made in trade talks held in Geneva and London in the past two months. China agreed to resume shipments of rare earths, while the US offered to ease some export restrictions on ethane, chip-design software and jet-engine components. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Monday that he expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart in the coming weeks to advance discussions on trade and other issues. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told the broadcast network that the two sides would kick off "a bigger trade conversation' in early August, just before the levy reprieve is set to expire. China in 2020 twice sanctioned Rubio, who was then a senator from Florida, over his criticism of Beijing's handling of Hong Kong and Xinjiang, as well as his push for laws to punish the Chinese government. Beijing has indicated that the sanctions wouldn't impact official exchanges. - Bloomberg
The Star
28-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Asean integration drives development of independent regional financial system, analyst says
SOUTH-EAST ASIA (Xinhua): Greater economic integration among the members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) is accelerating efforts to build an independent and resilient regional financial system, aimed at reducing reliance on external currencies and enhancing monetary stability across the region, according to a Malaysian analyst. These moves are not meant to target any specific country but rather reflect a desire to move away from external financial volatility and facilitate transactions using local currencies for intra-Asean trade, which will enable seamless cross-border transactions, provide greater market access for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and also boost regional tourism, Lee Pei May, a political expert at the International Islamic University Malaysia, said in a recent interview with Xinhua. "The push for the use of local currencies has been ongoing for some time, as it helps strengthen the economic integration of Asean member states -- an important goal that Asean seeks to pursue. "In fact, other regions are also moving away from relying too heavily on a single foreign currency, such as the US dollar, as external interest rates and shifting government policies may cause significant volatility in currency exchange," she explained, adding that volatility is undesirable in any business. "Apart from the benefits of easier and faster transactions between businesses and banks of Asean countries through the use of local currencies, cross-border payments in local currencies can also help to avoid the volatility from outside the area," she said. Lee also said that allowing cross-border settlements in local currencies would be faster and cheaper, and singled out the tourism sector as a big winner, as tourists in the region will not need to go through the hassle of changing physical money when visiting other Asean states. "The Regional Payment Connectivity (RPC) initiative was first established to strengthen payment connectivity among the five Asean members, notably Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. "To date, the initiative has expanded to include central banks of Vietnam, Laos, Brunei and Cambodia," she said. "The participation would bring about seamless cross-border transactions and boost tourism in the region. Under the local currency settlement framework, many national payment systems have been linked, such as between Malaysia and Indonesia," she said. Lee also noted that the Asean push for local currencies and reduced dependency on external monetary systems has gained momentum amid growing awareness of the risks posed by relying on the US dollar. "In the past, certain currencies were viewed as stable, but due to increasingly unpredictable global developments, this perception is shifting," Lee said, adding that if economic tools were to be used to exert pressure on policy differences, it could have negative implications. "Such risks, even if unlikely, remind us why building regional financial resilience is critical," she said. - Xinhua
