ASEAN Summit opens in Malaysia with focus on integration, resilience
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the plenary session, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim urged ASEAN members to work together to face the challenges brought about by a changing world order, to ensure the agenda of sustainable and equitable development is not sidelined.
"For ASEAN, our peace, stability and prosperity have often depended on an open, inclusive, rules-based international order, anchored in the free flow of trade, capital and people. These foundations are now being dismantled under the force of arbitrary action," he said.
"Indeed, a transition in the geopolitical order is underway and the global trading system is under further strain, with the recent imposition of U.S. unilateral tariffs. Protectionism is resurging as we bear witness to multilateralism breaking apart at the seams," he added.
Anwar also stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation with friendly partners of the grouping, noting the significance of the first-ever ASEAN-China-GCC summit, which brings together the grouping along with China - the region's biggest economic partner - and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Malaysia is the chair of ASEAN for 2025 and is hosting the ASEAN Summit and related meetings under the theme "Inclusivity and Sustainability."
Established in 1967, the grouping includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
(Cover via CMG)
Source: CGTN
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
21 minutes ago
- The Star
SIA flights between Singapore-Cambodia, Singapore-Thailand, operating normally amid border dispute
A spokesperson for the SIA Group said its top priority is the safety of customers and its employees. - ST SINGAPORE: All Singapore Airlines (SIA) flights between Singapore and Cambodia, as well as between Singapore and Thailand, continue to operate normally despite a deadly border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia. A spokesperson for the SIA Group said its top priority is the safety of customers and its employees. 'We will continue to monitor the situation closely and will adjust our flights where necessary,' the spokesperson added. A long-simmering border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia escalated to deadly violence on July 24 as their military forces clashed at multiple spots, leaving at least 12 people dead. The flare-up is part of a broader disagreement with origins stretching back more than a century and involves parts of a region known as the Emerald Triangle, where the boundaries of Thailand, Cambodia and Laos meet. The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia will attend mediation talks over their deadly border conflict in Malaysia on July 28 at 3pm local time at the Malaysian Prime Minister's Office in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim invited representatives from both countries. Malaysia, which chairs the regional grouping Asean, has informed the Thai government that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet would also be attending the talks, the statement said. According to The Nation, flights between Thailand and Cambodia are continuing as normal, as Cambodia's declared restricted area is limited and does not significantly impact air traffic departing from Thailand. Alternative flight paths are also readily available. - The Straits Times/ANN
The Star
21 minutes ago
- The Star
Oil rises as US-EU deal boosts trade optimism
SINGAPORE: Oil prices rose on Monday after the United States clinched a trade deal with the European Union and may extend a tariff pause with China, relieving concerns that higher levies could have hurt economic activity and limited fuel demand. Brent crude futures inched up 20 cents, or 0.29%, to $68.64 a barrel by 0336 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude stood at $65.31 a barrel, up 15 cents, or 0.23%. The US-European Union trade deal and a possible extension in the US-China tariff pause are supporting global financial markets and oil prices, IG markets analyst Tony Sycamore said. "With the risk of a prolonged trade war and the importance of the August tariff deadlines being steadily defused, markets have responded positively," he added in a note. Sunday's US-EU framework trade pact sets an import tariff of 15% on most EU goods, half the threatened rate. The deal averted a bigger trade war between two allies that account for almost one-third of global trade and could crimp fuel demand. Also set for Monday is a meeting in Stockholm of senior US and Chinese negotiators aiming to extend before an August 12 deadline a truce holding off sharply higher tariffs. Oil prices settled on Friday at their lowest in three weeks weighed down by global trade concerns and expectations of more oil supply from Venezuela. State-run oil company PDVSA is readying to resume work at its joint ventures under terms similar to Biden-era licenses, once U.S. President Donald Trump reinstates authorisations for its partners to operate and export oil under swaps, company sources said. Though prices were up slightly on Monday, gains were limited by the prospect of OPEC+ further easing supply curbs. A market monitoring panel of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies is set to meet at 1200 GMT on Monday. It is unlikely to recommend altering existing plans by eight members to raise oil output by 548,000 barrels per day in August, four OPEC+ delegates said last week, though another source said it was too early to say. ING expects OPEC+ will at least complete the full return of 2.2 million barrels per day of the additional voluntary supply cuts by the end of September. That would work out to a supply hike in September of at least 280,000 barrels per day. However, there is clearly room for a more aggressive hike. The producer group is keen to recover market share while summer demand is helping to absorb the extra barrels. JP Morgan analysts said global oil demand rose by 600,000 bpd in July on year, while global oil stocks rose 1.6 million bpd. In the Middle East, Yemen's Houthis said on Sunday they would target ships of companies that do business with Israeli ports, regardless of nationality, in what they called a fourth phase of military operations against Israel over the Gaza conflict. - Reuters
The Star
21 minutes ago
- The Star
US-China set to meet with extension of tariff pause on the cards
STOCKHOLM/WASHINGTON: Top economic officials from the United States and China are set to renew negotiations Monday (July 28) -- with an extension of lower tariff levels on the cards -- as President Donald Trump's trade policy enters a critical week. Talks between the world's top two economies are slated to happen over two days in the Swedish capital Stockholm, and they come as other countries are also rushing to finalise deals with Washington. For dozens of trading partners, failing to strike an agreement in the coming days means they could face significant tariff hikes on exports to the United States come Friday, Aug 1. The steeper rates, threatened against partners like Brazil and India, would raise the duties their products face from a "baseline" of 10 per cent now to levels up to 50 per cent. Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration have already effectively raised duties on US imports to levels not seen since the 1930s, according to data from The Budget Lab research centre at Yale University. For now, all eyes are on discussions between Washington and Beijing as a delegation including US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent meets a Chinese team led by Vice Premier He Lifeng in Sweden. While both countries in April imposed tariffs on each other's products that reached triple-digit levels, US duties this year have temporarily been lowered to 30 per cent and China's countermeasures slashed to 10 per cent. But the 90-day truce, instituted after talks in Geneva in May, is set to expire on Aug 12. Since the Geneva meeting, the two sides have convened in London to iron out disagreements. "There seems to have been a fairly significant shift in (US) administration thinking on China since particularly the London talks," said Emily Benson, head of strategy at Minerva Technology Futures. "The mood now is much more focused on what's possible to achieve, on warming relations where possible and restraining any factors that could increase tensions," she told AFP. Talks with China have not produced a deal but Benson said both countries have made progress, with certain rare earth and semiconductor flows restarting. "Secretary Bessent has also signalled that he thinks a concrete outcome will be to delay the 90-day tariff pause," she said. "That's also promising, because it indicates that something potentially more substantive is on the horizon." The South China Morning Post, citing sources on both sides, reported Sunday that Washington and Beijing are expected to extend their tariff pause by another 90 days. Trump has announced pacts so far with the European Union, Britain, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines, although details have been sparse. An extension of the US-China deal to keep tariffs at reduced levels "would show that both sides see value in continuing talks", said Thibault Denamiel, a fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. US-China Business Council President Sean Stein said the market is not anticipating a detailed readout from Stockholm: "What's more important is the atmosphere coming out." "The business community is optimistic that the two presidents will meet later this year, hopefully in Beijing," he told AFP. "It's clear that on both sides, the final decision-maker is going to be the president." Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said both countries' willingness to meet was a "positive development". For others, the prospect of higher US tariffs and few details from fresh trade deals mark "a far cry from the ideal scenario", said Denamiel. But they show some progress, particularly with partners Washington has signalled are on its priority list like the EU, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea. The EU unveiled a pact with Washington on Sunday while Seoul is rushing to strike an agreement, after Japan and the Philippines already reached the outlines of deals. Breakthroughs have been patchy since Washington promised a flurry of agreements after unveiling, and then swiftly postponing, tariff hikes targeting dozens of economies in April. Denamiel warned of overlooking countries that fall outside Washington's priority list. Solid partnerships are needed, he said, if Washington wants to diversify supply chains, enforce advanced technology controls, and tackle excess Chinese capacity. - Reuters
