Leaders snub US summit after Trump skips Bangkok meeting

Most Southeast Asian leaders skipped a summit on Monday with US representatives after President Donald Trump decided to avoid the annual meetings for a second straight year.

Leaders from Thailand, Laos and Vietnam were the only ones to show up from the 10-member Asean the summit with National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, who was leading the US delegation. It was the lowest level representation for the US at the meetings since Barack Obama upgraded ties with Asean in 2011.

In remarks at the summit, O'Brien said the US must defend its relationship with Asean at all costs. He read aloud a letter from Trump inviting regional leaders to join him in the US for a special summit.

The three leaders who attended included Prayuth Chan-Ocha of Thailand, the current chair of Asean; Thongloun Sisoulith of Laos, the coordinator between the bloc and the US; and Nguyen Xuan Phuc of Vietnam, which will host the Asean meetings in 2020. Thai foreign ministry spokeswoman Busadee Santipitaks confirmed the other leaders stayed away.

Video from the event showed seven foreign ministers sitting at a table usually reserved for prime ministers. Santipitaks' statement came after a reporter questioned why only three leaders were in attendance.

The US had expressed concern to Asean diplomats about the "intentional effort to embarrass" Trump with the partial boycott, the Bangkok Post reported, citing an unidentified diplomat. "We are extremely concerned by the apparent decision," the diplomat quoted a US message to the bloc as saying.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who is also in Bangkok, defended US strategy in Asia. He said Trump remains "fully committed" to the Indo-Pacific, citing 24 senior US officials and eight government agencies were represented at the meetings.