VIENTIANE, Laos: Southeast Asian leaders gathered in the capital of Laos on Wednesday for an annual regional forum that will focus on tackling the prolonged civil war in Myanmar and territorial tensions in the South China Sea, two key challenges that have long tested the bloc’s credibility.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit will also be followed by meetings with global powers including China, the United States and Russia, which are contending for influence in the region.
The timing of the meetings in Vientiane makes it likely that talks will also touch on the escalation of violence in the Middle East, although Southeast Asia has faced only indirect fallout.
ASEAN’s influence has historically been limited even among its own members, but the forum has often served as a platform for dialogues among superpowers looking to engage with the region.
The 10-member states of ASEAN – Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei and Laos – will also hold talks with their dialogue partners from elsewhere in the region including Japan, South Korea, India and Australia on topics ranging from the economy to climate change and energy.
Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone welcomed new leaders from Thailand and Singapore to the summit in his opening speech. He said Lao, one of the poorest countries in the bloc, aims to help members work together to manage geopolitical and economic challenges under its chairmanship.
“We help one another, and work together the ASEAN way,” he said. “We will discuss and strengthen cooperation between ASEAN members and other dialogue partners, along with upholding the unity and centrality of ASEAN.”
Thailand’s Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who took the premiership in August, is the bloc’s youngest leader at 38. Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong took over in May from Lee Hsien Loong, who stepped down after 20 years. Vietnam also has a new leader after President To Lam took office in August, but the country is being represented by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, ASEAN’s biggest member, is skipping the forum as his successor Prabowo Subianto prepares to take office later this month, sending Vice President Ma’ruf Amin in his stead. It will also be the first overseas trip for Japan’s new prime minister Shigeru Ishiba, who was confirmed just last week.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will fill in for President Joe Biden at the meetings, while China will be represented by Premier Li Qiang.
Frayed US-China relations, particularly over Beijing’s increasing assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea, will be a major agenda item for Blinken, said Dan Kritenbrink, the top US diplomat for Asia. He could not say if Blinken plans to hold separate meetings in Laos with Chinese officials.
“A number of (China)-related issues are likely to come up in the context of the ASEAN meetings, including the situation in the South China Sea and China’s continuing to take a number of escalatory and irresponsible steps designed to coerce and pressure many in the South China Sea claimants,” Kritenbrink said.
ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, along with Taiwan have overlapping claims with China, which claims sovereignty over virtually all of the South China Sea and has become increasingly aggressive in attempts to enforce them. ASEAN members and China are negotiating a non-binding code of conduct to govern behavior in the sea, but progress has been slow.
Chinese and Philippine vessels have clashed repeatedly this year, and Vietnam charged last week that Chinese forces assaulted its fishermen in disputed areas in the South China Sea. China has also sent patrol vessels to areas that Indonesia and Malaysia claim as exclusive economic zones. The Philippines, a longtime US ally, has been critical of other ASEAN countries for not doing more to get China to back away.
Muhammad Faizal Abdul Rahman, research fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said there’s little chance of clear outcomes as those not in direct conflict with China – the region’s top trade and investment partner – will likely prioritize ties with Beijing,
“It is the preference for conflict avoidance while getting geostrategic benefits where possible,” he said. “In reality, national interests matter more than regional interests.”
ASEAN’s credibility has also been severely tested by the crisis in Myanmar, where close to 6,000 people have been killed and over 3 million displaced since the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.
Myanmar’s junta has agreed to an ASEAN peace plan that calls for ceasefire and mediation, but hasn’t followed through as it continues battling pro-democracy guerillas and ethnic rebels. It’s widely believed that considerably less than half the country’s territory is under the army’s control.
Thailand is expected to host an informal regional consultation on the Myanmar crisis in December, although it is unclear who will attend from Myanmar. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balangura said the meeting will be open to all ASEAN members at a ministerial level and possible to countries with a shared border with Myanmar.
“Thailand is ready to coordinate to create a concerted ASEAN effort that will lead to peace in Myanmar,” he told reporters.
Myanmar sent Foreign Ministry permanent secretary Aung Kyaw Moe to the summit, its first high-level representative at the summit in three years, after ASEAN barred it from sending political representatives in late 2021.
Allowing a senior diplomat from Myanmar to join the meetings “will be perceived as ASEAN is compromising, confirming the concern that ASEAN is experiencing fatigue in dealing with the crisis,” said Lina Alexandra, senior researcher at Indonesia’s Center for Strategic and International Studies. Chances for any significant breakthrough on the crisis remain slim, she said.
ASEAN leaders meet in Laos summit to tackle Myanmar, South China Sea
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ASEAN leaders meet in Laos summit to tackle Myanmar, South China Sea
- ASEAN summit will also be followed by meetings with global powers including China, the United States and Russia
- ASEAN’s influence has historically been limited even among its own members, but the forum has often served as a platform for dialogues among superpowers
Escalation feared as Georgia pro-EU protests enter third week
Many waved EU and Georgian flags while demonstrators blocked traffic on Tbilisi’s main avenue
TBILISI: Georgia’s pro-EU protests entered their third week Thursday, amid fears the post-electoral crisis could further escalate with the ruling party set to appoint a loyalist as the country’s next president.
The Black Sea nation has been in turmoil since the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in October’s parliamentary elections, and the government’s decision last month to delay EU accession talks ignited a fresh wave of mass rallies.
More unrest is expected on Saturday, when Georgian Dream is scheduled to strengthen its grip on power by appointing far-right former footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili as a successor to pro-Western President Salome Zurabishvili, who has refused to step down.
Despite windy weather on Thursday evening, several thousand people rallied outside Georgia’s parliament, marking a third week of daily protests that began on November 28.
Many waved EU and Georgian flags while demonstrators blocked traffic on Tbilisi’s main avenue.
“Our protest will last as long as it takes for Georgian Dream to be removed from power,” protester Rusiko Dolidze, 42, told AFP.
“We won’t let a handful of Russian lackeys steal our European future.”
Anti-government rallies were also held in several cities across Georgia, including in the western cities of Batumi, Kutaisi and Zugdidi, local media reported.
A protest is scheduled for Saturday morning outside parliament, where an electoral college controlled by Georgian Dream is expected to elect Kavelashvili as the country’s new figurehead president in an indirect vote boycotted by the opposition.
Kavelashvili will see his legitimacy undermined from the onset, with constitutional law experts — including an author of Georgia’s constitution, Vakhtang Khmaladze — saying the vote will be “illegitimate.”
The new parliament had ratified its own credentials in violation of a legal requirement to await a court decision on Zurabishvili’s bid to annul the earlier election results.
Zurabishvili has backed the opposition’s allegations of election rigging, declared the newly elected parliament and the government “illegitimate” and vowed to remain in office until Georgian Dream organizes a new parliamentary election.
It remains unclear how the government will react to Zurabishvili’s refusal to step down after her successor is inaugurated on December 29.
Zurabishvili is a hugely popular figure among the protesters, who view her as a beacon of Georgia’s European aspirations. Many have expressed their readiness to defend her against any attempted eviction from the presidential palace.
“Let them try to kick Salome out of the presidential palace — we will all stand up to defend her,” said protester Otar Turnava, 23.
“She is the only legitimate leader we have had since Georgian Dream stole the election, and she will lead us into the EU.”
Triggering outrage at home and mounting international condemnation, police have used tear gas and water cannons to disperse previous rallies, arresting more than 400 demonstrators.
The country’s rights ombudsman has accused security forces of “torturing” those detained.
Police have raided opposition party offices and detained their leaders, while masked men have brutally assaulted opposition figures and journalists near the protest venue.
On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the “intimidation” of civil society as well as police violence “against peaceful demonstrators and journalists,” the Elysee said after talks with Georgian Dream’s honorary chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Macron expressed regret that Georgia had “diverged from its European path” and said that “the relationship between the European Union and Georgia would necessarily be affected.”
Ivanishvili, Georgia’s richest man, is widely believed to be pulling the strings of power despite holding no official post.
Macron’s decision to call informal leader Ivanishvili — rather than Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze — is indicative of the West’s hesitancy to recognize the legitimacy of Georgian Dream’s new government.
Brussels has said there are “credible concerns” of torture against demonstrators.
Washington has threatened fresh sanctions against Georgian Dream officials after the European Parliament made a similar demand to the European Commission.
The party rejected fraud accusations and insisted it was committed to Georgia’s bid for EU membership.
Brussels has warned such policies are incompatible with EU membership, while domestic critics accuse the government of copying Russia’s playbook.
Ukraine’s path into NATO ‘irreversible’: European foreign ministers
- The foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain, and the EU’s foreign policy chief said: “Ukraine must prevail“
- “We are committed to providing Ukraine with ironclad security guarantees“
BERLIN: Ukraine’s path to eventual NATO membership is “irreversible,” seven European foreign policy chiefs said at a meeting in Berlin on Thursday.
“We will continue to support Ukraine on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership,” said the foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain, and the EU’s foreign policy chief.
“Ukraine must prevail,” they stressed in a joint declaration after meeting their Ukrainian counterpart.
“We are committed to providing Ukraine with ironclad security guarantees, including reliable long-term provision of military and financial support,” they added.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock hosted the meeting as Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion has raged for more than 1,000 days and into its third winter, with Kyiv’s troops under heavy pressure.
The top diplomats vowed to “remain steadfast in our solidarity” and “continue to support Ukraine in its right of self-defense against Russian aggression.”
US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next month, has said solving the Ukraine crisis would be his top priority, but there are fears in Kyiv that he could try to force big concessions on Ukraine in return for a ceasefire.
The European ministers meeting in Berlin stressed: “There can be no negotiations about peace in Ukraine without Ukrainians and without Europeans by their side.”
They vowed to “stand united with our European and transatlantic partners to think and act big on European security.”
The group also said they would “continue to support Ukraine on its path toward accession to the European Union.”
UK aims to boost home-schooling safety after British-Pakistani girl’s murder
- Ten-year-old Sara Sharif’s father, step-mother were convicted of murdering her this week
- Months before death, her father had taken Sharif out of school to be taught at home
LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday called for better safeguards for home-schooled children and said there were “questions that need to be answered” after the brutal murder of a 10-year-old girl.
Sara Sharif’s father and step-mother were convicted of murder on Wednesday in a trial that revealed gruesome details of the abuse inflicted on her, and the failure of child protection services to intervene despite warning signs.
Months before her death, her father Urfan Sharif had taken her out of school to be taught at home, after Sara’s teacher reported her bruises to child services.
At the time, child services had probed the incident but did not take any action.
Starmer said the “awful” case was “about making sure that (there are) protecting safeguards for children, particularly those being home-schooled.”
The Department for Education said it was “already taking action to make sure no child falls through the cracks” and “bringing in greater safeguards for children in home education.”
The government plans to “make sure that schools and teachers are involved in safeguarding decisions,” a Downing Street spokesperson said, adding that details would be included in upcoming legislation.
Parents will also need local authority consent for home-schooling at-risk children under the proposed changes, and a register of children who are not in school will be drawn up.
Sara was found dead in her home in August 2023, with extensive injuries including broken bones, burns and even bite marks after being subjected to years of abuse.
She had also been in and out of foster care after Sharif separated from her mother, Olga Sharif, to marry the step-mother Beinash Batool.
Despite previous allegations of abusive behavior against the father made by Olga, Sharif won custody of Sara in 2019, just four years before she was killed.
Children’s Commissioner Rachel de Souza said Sara’s death highlighted “profound weaknesses in our child protection system.”
De Souza said it was “madness” that an at-risk child could be taken out of school, calling for a ban on home-schooling of suspected abuse victims.
According to a child safeguarding report published on Thursday, 485 children in England died or were seriously harmed by abuse or neglect in the year to April 2024.
Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Sara’s uncle Faisal Malik, who was cleared of murder but convicted of causing or allowing her death, are due to be sentenced on Tuesday.
Finland to host EU leaders for defense, immigration talks
- Discussions will focus on “key issues facing Europe in a tense geopolitical climate,” the government said
- Finland has accused Russia of orchestrating a surge of migrants
HELSINKI: Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo will host four high-ranking EU counterparts in late December for talks on security and immigration, the Finnish government said on Thursday.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will join the summit, which will take place in Saariselka in Finland’s far north on December 21 and 22.
Discussions will focus on “key issues facing Europe in a tense geopolitical climate,” the government said in a statement.
Topics like “European security, defense and preparedness, as well as migration, instrumentalization of migration and border security” will be on the agenda.
“The summit will provide an opportunity to discuss issues confidentially and come up with ideas for new initiatives,” the statement said.
Finland has accused Russia of orchestrating a surge of migrants after nearly 1,000 migrants without visas arrived at its 1,340-kilometer-long (830-mile) eastern border with Russia in the autumn of 2023.
Helsinki dubbed it a “hybrid attack,” but the Kremlin has denied the accusation.
“Europe has to take greater responsibility for its own security,” Orpo was quoted saying in the statement.
“This means that European countries have to be strong leaders, both in the EU and in NATO. Our greatest threat is Russia, which is trying to consolidate power and sow discord in Europe.”
Tusk says no plans to send Polish troops to Ukraine in event of ceasefire
- Tusk was speaking alongside French President Emmanuel Macron who was visiting Warsaw
- Diplomats said the idea of sending European troops to Ukraine if there is a ceasefire and peace accord between Ukraine and Russia would be on their agenda.
WARSAW/PARIS: Poland has no plans to send troops to Ukraine, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday, amid speculation that Western powers could put boots on the ground if a ceasefire is reached.
Tusk was speaking alongside French President Emmanuel Macron who was visiting Warsaw. Diplomats said the idea of sending European troops to Ukraine if there is a ceasefire and peace accord between Ukraine and Russia would be on their agenda.
“To cut off speculation about the potential presence of this or that country in Ukraine after reaching a ceasefire... decisions concerning Poland will be made in Warsaw and only in Warsaw,” Tusk said. “For now, we do not plan such actions.”
Macron said it was up to Ukraine to decide what concessions it wanted to make for peace, but for Europe to be secure the people of the continent as a whole must take responsibility.
“(We have) the same desire to say to the Ukrainians that... nobody can discuss for the Ukrainians in their name the concessions to be made, the points to be raised, it is up to the Ukrainians to do it, but there is no security in Europe without the Europeans,” Macron told a news conference.
European powers are keen to demonstrate to Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated as US president on Jan. 20, that they are willing to assume their share of the burden to end the almost three-year war in Ukraine.
Finance and foreign ministers from France, Germany and Poland are also meeting on Thursday in Warsaw and in Berlin, just weeks before Poland takes over the rotating EU presidency from Hungary.
The talks in Poland and Berlin will look at how to strengthen financial and military support for Ukraine in the immediate term and how Europe can boost defense financing, including through common debt.