News Snapshot:
On 24 April at the Asean Leaders' Meeting in Jakarta, the Asean chair, Sultan Hassan Bolkiah, instructed foreign ministers to hold special meetings with the US and China as soon as possible to further strengthen Asean centrality and unity with these most important dialogue partners. It was rather an usual instruction as Asean had already planned to hold a post-ministerial meeting with Washington and Beijing in August. The call by the Asean chair manifested the urgency and importance of Asean's engagement with external partners, especially the US and China, at this critical moment. A senior Thai diplomat described the grouping's...
