What is the Asean Summit, the first event on Trump’s tour of Asia?

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – For his first stop on a whirlwind tour of Asia, US President Donald Trump will visit Malaysia on Oct 26 to attend a summit of the Association of South-east Asian Nations, an organisation of growing global importance that represents nearly 700 million people.

The association, known as Asean, comprises 10 member states in South-east Asia: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. On Oct 26, it was

officially inducting an 11th member: Timor-Leste.

The bloc is home to roughly 680 million people and has the fifth-largest economy in the world, with a combined gross domestic product of more than US$3.6 trillion (S$4.68 trillion).

As its economy has strengthened in recent years, so too has its importance in the global market. The United States, China and the European Union have all sought to increase trade with the organisation’s members.

For the US, Asean is significant for both the size of its economic market and its geostrategic importance as a bulwark against China.

Collectively, the bloc is the fourth-largest trading partner for the US, and the region is an important supply-chain hub for many American companies that have moved out of China.

Asean, formed in 1967 to promote regional stability and economic development during the post-colonial era, prides itself on not interfering in the internal affairs of member states. It often describes its consensus-based decision-making process as the “Asean way”.

But this approach has hampered the group’s ability to respond swiftly to crises like the civil war in Myanmar and the

growing number of online scam centres

in countries like Cambodia and Myanmar.

The US says Asean is central to a “free and open Indo-Pacific”, Washington’s longstanding strategy to counter China’s growing influence in the region.

Many South-east Asian states are threatened by China’s increasingly assertive claims in the South China Sea and welcome Washington’s presence in the region. But they have questions about America’s commitment to their region at a time of domestic political turmoil and other wars in the world.

Most Asean states want to have good relations with both the US and China and are frustrated that Mr Trump’s aggressive actions against Beijing are forcing them to choose sides.

Many of their export-driven economies have also been hit hard by Mr Trump’s tariffs, which he has set at about 20 per cent for most countries in the region. They will be closely watching Mr Trump’s meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping later in South Korea.

This summer, the bloc was confronted by one of its biggest challenges in years when Thailand and Cambodia attacked each other over a border dispute.

It was the deadliest show of force between two Asean states in decades. On Oct 26, the two countries are expected to sign a peace agreement that will be witnessed by Mr Trump. NYTIMES