Trade war in focus at ASEAN summit ahead of Trump’s arrival

Southeast Asian heads of state opened a key regional summit in Manila on Sunday to address regional flashpoints and the Middle East crisis. Leaders at the 11-member ASEAN summit are also grappling with the US trade war, according to the New Straits Times.

The New Straits Times reports that US President Donald Trump is scheduled to arrive on Tuesday, near the end of the summit, for his first sit-down of his second term with leaders from Quad countries India, Japan, and Australia. During the summit, Brazil's newly re-elected President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stated that his country has decided to seek other partners for trade rather than asking for pity from the US following its decision to impose tariffs on other nations.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also addressed the summit, noting a new free-trade deal with the Philippines and stating that ASEAN trade talks have been substantially concluded. Punch reports that the summit in Manila comes ahead of President Trump's arrival as leaders manage the US trade war and regional flashpoints.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch, Punch Nigeria, The Mainichi, New Straits Times — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.