Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Monday that Southeast Asian nations would unite to face challenges including economic hardship from U.S. tariffs and Myanmar's decades-long civil war.
Opening the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Mr Anwar expressed his intention to hold a joint meeting with US President Donald Trump to discuss the tariff issue.
It is expected that this could happen later this year. Malaysia currently holds the chair of ASEAN.
“For ASEAN, our peace, stability and prosperity have often depended on an open, inclusive and rules-based international order… These foundations are now being eroded by arbitrary exercise of power,” Mr Anwar said.
Mr Anwar said ASEAN had set up a working group to coordinate a response to the US tariffs, in parallel with bilateral talks between individual member countries.
ASEAN includes major economies such as Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines, as well as Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
The region relies on exports to the United States and is hit by Trump administration tariffs that range from 10% for Singapore to 49% for Cambodia.
In April, Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs for most countries and this month struck a similar deal with key rival China, easing tensions in the trade war.
Mr Anwar said Tuesday's meeting of ASEAN leaders with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – the first such trilateral meeting – would promote new cooperation that could protect ASEAN's economy.
The GCC includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Mr Anwar also said the bloc would on Monday unveil a new 20-year strategy to deepen economic and social integration.
Mr Anwar said Malaysia had made “progress” in efforts to resolve the crisis in Myanmar after setting up an informal consultation group led by former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra. Anwar met Myanmar army chief General Min Aung Hlaing in Bangkok last month and held virtual talks with the opposition Government of National Unity.
Officials noted that the current
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