ASEAN leaders to show concern over U.S. tariffs, Myanmar
Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations are set to show their deep concern over "unilateral tariff measures" without mentioning the United States at their meeting in Malaysia on Monday, according to a draft of the summit chairman's statement obtained by Kyodo News.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is chairing the meeting, said at the outset that ASEAN has displayed resilience amid "increasingly complex and sobering global developments," adding, "The global trading system is under further strain, with the recent imposition of U.S. unilateral tariffs."
Anwar said he had written to U.S. President Donald Trump to organize a meeting between Washington and ASEAN in an effort to negotiate on the tariffs as a region, rather than bilaterally.
The leaders met in Kuala Lumpur as their countries, like others, are set to be hit by Trump's so-called reciprocal tariffs, with U.S. duties on the 10 members of the regional grouping ranging from 10 to 49 percent.
According to the chairman's draft statement, the leaders will warn that the unilateral tariffs pose "complex and multidimensional challenges to ASEAN's economic growth, stability and integration," reaffirming the regional bloc's commitment to a "nondiscriminatory multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization at its core."
Following Trump's announcement of the tariffs, ASEAN trade ministers held a special virtual meeting in April and said they would not retaliate, which Malaysian trade minister Zafrul Abdul Aziz on Sunday characterized as a prudent stance that has averted an escalation of trade tensions.
Setting the tone ahead of the summit, the ASEAN trade and foreign ministers met separately on Sunday in the Malaysian capital.
Besides tariffs, the ongoing civil war in Myanmar, following a coup in February 2021 that ousted the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, was believed to have been discussed at the summit, with the issue mentioned in the draft statement.
Peaceful protests against the coup morphed into armed resistance after a harsh military crackdown. Ethnic minority rebels and fighters aligned with a parallel government formed by ousted civilian leaders have been battling the military.
The junta in Myanmar and the other members of ASEAN reached a so-called five-point consensus in April 2021, including the need for an immediate end to violence. But little progress has been made, with thousands killed in the civil war.
Further humanitarian assistance for Myanmar, the central region of which was hit by an earthquake on March 28 that killed over 3,700 people, would be stressed, the draft statement showed, including a call by the leaders for greater international financial support.
Anwar said at the outset of Monday's summit that ASEAN has been able to take "positive steps" within an informal advisory group that he launched by requesting former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to serve as an adviser.
From Myanmar, Aung Kyaw Moe, permanent secretary of Myanmar's Foreign Ministry, is participating in the summit as ASEAN has only allowed a nonpolitical representative from the country to attend since October 2021, effectively excluding the junta chief.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
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