World leaders in Southeast Asia for a diplomatic marathon with a global agenda

Southeast Asia will host several world leaders from Friday in a diplomatic marathon whose agenda covers topics such as the war in Ukraine, US-China rivalry, North Korea, Myanmar or food insecurity.

The first stage will take place in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, where the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit and various bilateral meetings are held from Friday to Sunday.

This is followed by the G20 summit on the Indonesian island of Bali on Tuesday and Wednesday (15th and 16th) and the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) meeting in Bangkok. until 19.

In Phnom Penh, among others, will be UN Secretary General António Guterres, US President Joe Biden and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, representing leader Xi Jinping.

Russia will send Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Phnom Penh, where his Ukrainian counterpart Dmitry Kuleba is already located.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to address ASEAN via videoconference at the invitation of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, host of the summit.

Kuleba will sign an agreement in Phnom Penh that formalizes diplomatic relations between Kyiv and ASEAN and is a preliminary mechanism for Ukraine to receive the status of a dialogue partner of the regional bloc.

ASEAN, founded in 1967, currently comprises 10 countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

ASEAN will also hold bilateral meetings with various partners including the UN, China, Japan, Canada, South Korea and the US, which is the reason for Biden’s presence in Phnom Penh over the weekend, at a time of rising tensions between Washington and Beijing. .

A senior US administration official, quoted by the French AFP news agency, said Biden would emphasize the importance of peace in the region, including Taiwan, and respect for the “international order based on rules.”

The crisis in Taiwan and allegations of genocide by the Chinese ethnic minority of Uyghur Muslim origin in Xinjiang have worsened relations between the two countries, although Xi Jinping recently said that “paths to mutual understanding” must be found.

Beijing and Washington are vying for influence in the world, and Southeast Asia is trying to maintain good relations with both as they are essential to the economic development of the region and its more than 660 million people.

Freshly re-elected for a historic third consecutive term, Xi hosted a number of international leaders in Beijing, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Xi is expected to attend the G20 summit in Bali, where he could have his first face-to-face meeting with Biden since previous meetings via videoconference.

Growing concerns about North Korea’s nuclear tests are likely to provoke meetings between Biden and his South Korean counterpart Yun Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of ASEAN or G20 summits, according to Japanese press reports.

ASEAN will also have Myanmar (formerly Burma) on the ASEAN agenda, which continues to confuse ASEAN, which has so far failed to negotiate a way out of the crisis with its member state following the February 2021 coup d’état.

ASEAN and Myanmar blame each other for the lack of progress in the negotiations, and the only significant sanction so far is precisely the absence of the leader of the Burmese military junta, Min Aung Hlaing, at the Phnom Penh summit on the decision of his colleagues. . . .