Concerns about geopolitical rivalries overshadowed three days of meetings this week between top officials and leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its global partners, with this year’s chair Indonesia calling on world leaders to step back from confrontation.
The meetings, which ended Thursday, also saw the United States, Japan, China and others look to shore up regional partnerships as they vie for influence over the 10-member bloc, which has been divided over key challenges, including its response to the internal conflict in Myanmar and territorial disputes over the South China Sea.
Tensions accompanied talks on a host of economic and political issues, with Indonesian President Joko Widodo warning at Thursday’s 18-nation East Asian Summit of "destructive" major power rivalries.