Trade war in focus at Asean summit ahead of Trump arrival

The Southeast Asian Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit commenced in Manila on Sunday, with nearly 20,000 police officers patrolling Metro Manila to maintain order. Progressive groups anticipate a large anti-Trump demonstration on Tuesday at the summit site. The summit's focus is on various regional issues and the global US President Donald Trump's trade war.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva highlighted Brazil's shift away from US tariffs, noting a 15% and 13% increase in trade with Indonesia and Vietnam, respectively. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney echoed similar sentiments, emphasizing a strategy to reduce reliance on the US through new trade deals and Asean trade talks.

Lula expressed his desire to double trade with Canada and met with Carney during the summit. However, the summit is also grappling with the US's trade war, particularly the US supply-chain initiative designed to counter China's dominance in semiconductors and rare earths. A crowd of around 200 protesters clashed with police during an attempted march towards the summit site, with some demonstrators being taken away in police vans.

Regarding other issues, Myanmar's exclusion from high-level Asean meetings due to a military coup and civil war, as well as the South China Sea Code of Conduct negotiations, remain unresolved. Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro reiterated that there will be no easing of the approach with Myanmar, which faces an international ruling on potential genocide against Rohingya Muslims. The Asean summit's rotating chair, Singapore, will face similar challenges in the future.