(Reuters) — Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) attended the opening ceremony of their regional meeting on Tuesday (September 6).
The three-day meeting will bring together leaders from ASEAN and eight other dialogue partners: China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, Russia, New Zealand and the United States.
Laos President Bounnhang Vorachith made opening remarks to mark the start of the summit.
“In recent years, regional and international environments have undergone rapid and complex challenges. Multifaceted security challenges have occurred in many parts of the world such as terrorism and extremism, natural disasters and climate change, migration crisis, people trafficking, territorial disputes and armed conflicts among others,” said Bounnhang.
Landlocked Laos is the rotating chair this year, and topics such as South China Sea disputes, counter-terrorism, trade and human rights are expected to be top of the agenda.
“ASEAN has become an important component in the Laos foreign policy based on the principle of peace, independence, friendship and cooperation,” he added.
The opening ceremony was overshadowed by unusually open tensions between the United States and the Philippines.
The Philippines scrambled to defuse the row as President Rodrigo Duterte voiced regret for calling President Barack Obama a “son of a bitch”, comments that prompted Washington to call off a bilateral meeting.