ASEAN unworthiness

The thirty first semi-annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held at Manila in the Philippines was not in any way expected to set pulses racing because ever since its inception in 1976, the summit has been more of a sobering influence on other forums of the globe than having a marked impact on men and matters. The highlight of the summit was President Donald Trump singing a totally different tune on China by virtually signalling that Xi Jinping and he were comrades-in-arms. There were no strong words on the South China Sea and China received a shot in the arm when Trump called for a "free Indo-Pacific region". Jinping's representative, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang must have been mighty pleased with the diplomatic coup pulled off by his country. Other nations were all praises for China's "trade co-operation". US President's paucity of words on drug trafficking and human rights violations were massive let downs. This indeed has been seen as the biggest problem with the ASEAN summits: their hesitancy to leave an imprint on human rights. The forum's failure to act decisively towards amicably settling some territorial disputes has been criticised though the latest summit saw the US and other nations speaking in one voice over pledging to curb terror and

strengthen counter-terror mechanisms. It is hoped in time to come the ASEAN summits tie loose ends up to become more relevant.

— Ganapathi Bhat