Asean leaders to attend summit in Singapore with Trump absent
The bustling heart of Singapore is preparing to grind to a halt as Asia-Pacific leaders and representatives from the 10 member states of the Asean bloc converge this week for the second and final summit of the island nation’s chairmanship.
More than 1,600 military personnel are being deployed for security at the 33rd Asean Summit’s several venues, with ramped-up coastal and aerial defences in place.
Streets are being sealed off in anticipation of the arrival of Asean leaders as well as high-level delegations from partner countries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
While United States President Donald Trump will not be there, Vice President Mike Pence will attend in his place. Premier Li Keqiang will lead China’s delegation.
A key expectation of the summit is further progress towards formalising the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a sprawling trade pact between 16 countries, including China, India, Japan and South Korea, but not the United States.
During Singapore’s tenure as Asean chair, member states and China have produced a 19-page Single Draft South China Sea Code of Conduct – a show of co-ordination despite mounting tensions and shifting allegiances on matters of security in the contested and militarised waters.
Rights groups have expressed concern that the bloc has a history of prioritising trade, and favouring a decidedly hands-off approach when it comes to human rights. Ahead of the summit, Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights, a grouping that seeks to uphold rights in SouthEast Asia, is calling for human rights abuses in the region to remain in the spotlight.
Before the summit, the group expressed concern that Cambodia had effectively marked a return to one-party rule, with the opposition barred from contesting July elections. In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs has claimed over 4,000 lives according to official figures – but rights groups such as Amnesty International say the body count could be three times higher.
But there is likely to be one human rights issue firmly on the agenda, one that rights groups say will affect Asean’s credibility if it is not addressed.
After state-backed mass atrocities against the Rohingya in north-west Myanmar and the subsequent exodus of more than 700,000 into Bangladesh, Myanmar’s handling of the Rohingya crisis has divided Asean.
Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad dispensed with formalities in an interview with Turkish news outlet TRT World last month, saying that his government no longer considered Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel laureate and State Counsellor of Myanmar, to be an ally.
“We have made it quite clear we don’t really support her any more,” he said.
“Our policy in Asean is non-interference in the internal affairs of the countries, but this is ... grossly unjust.”
Ms Suu Kyi is expected to attend the Singapore summit amid a growing chorus of international condemnation. Myanmar has vehemently rejected allegations of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, and signalled defiance in the face of looming International Criminal Court referrals.
As Myanmar prepares to repatriate the first batch of 2,260 Rohingya refugees from the camps of Bangladesh, civil society groups and NGOs say conditions are not yet right.
“Asean leaders cannot stand idly by while a possible genocide is unfolding in one of their member states,” said Charles Santiago, chair of the MPs’ group and a Malaysian member of parliament.
Our policy in Asean is non-interference in the internal affairs of the countries, but this is ... grossly unjust DR MAHATHIR MOHAMAD Malaysian Prime Minister