US President Donald Trump has touched down in Malaysia ahead of the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Kuala Lumpur.
Mr Trump’s visit to Asia comes at a time when both his protectionist agenda and foreign policy have cast a significant shadow over the region.
The ASEAN grouping, now a bloc of 11 countries in South-East Asia, is meeting alongside Mr Trump and leaders of global powers, including Japan, South Korea, Canada, Brazil, South Africa and Australia.
Anthony Albanese heads to Malaysia for ASEAN and East Asia Summit
A proposed peace deal signing between Thailand and Cambodia will take centre stage on Sunday, with Mr Trump overseeing the ceremony.
Posting on Truth Social on his way to Kuala Lumpur, Mr Trump took credit for the ceasefire between the two nations.
In July, the worst violence in years at the Thailand-Cambodia border killed dozens of people and displaced hundreds of thousands.
Many analysts say while the threats of Trump’s tariffs to both Thailand and Cambodia assisted in negotiations, Malaysia and ASEAN are chiefly responsible for brokering a ceasefire earlier this year.
This peace deal, dubbed the Kuala Lumpur Accords, would see both nations remove landmines and heavy artillery from the border.
Timor-Leste becomes ASEAN member
Earlier on Sunday, a short ceremony took place welcoming Timor-Leste, Asia’s youngest nation, to the ASEAN bloc, officially becoming its 11th member.
Timor-Leste, among the poorest nations in Asia, has sought membership to ASEAN for decades, hoping the economic connections it provides can help boost its fledgling and largely resources-dependent economy in a bid to try to lift its people out of poverty.
Applause rang out across the hall where the ceremony took place, as well as in the media room where journalists from Timor-Leste were gathered.
Anwar Ibrahim, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Jose Ramos-Horta and Xanana Gusmao at the signing ceremony of the declaration of Timor-Leste’s admission into ASEAN. (Reuters: Chalinee Thirasupa)
It is an enormous symbolic victory for Timor-Leste, and for its two leaders here, President Jose Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, key figures in the nation’s independence movement.
“For the people of Timor-Leste, this is not only a dream realised, but a powerful affirmation of our journey,” an emotional Mr Gusmao said in a speech.
Mr Ramos-Horta told the ABC he was hoping for greater regional integration.
“With a market of 700 million people and which Timor is a part of now, there’s more opportunity to attract investors to Timor-Leste,” he said.
Deal-making expected on sidelines
Crucially, it appears Mr Trump will likely not be talking trade with ASEAN, a region that Washington preferred to negotiate bilaterally with during tariff negotiations.
Most countries in the region have walked away with rates of 19 or 20 per cent and are still attempting to negotiate exemptions.
They threaten to cause significant economic disruption to South-East Asia’s export-oriented economies.
Many on the sidelines of ASEAN have been discussing the “new global order”, a term generally used to describe the response of global powers to erratic US foreign and economic policy, boosting trade and political ties with each other.
Donald Trump speaks to the media aboard Air Force One ahead of his arrival in Malaysia on Sunday. (Reuters: Evelyn Hockstein)
As part of a five-day visit to Asia, Mr Trump will depart from Malaysia to visit Japan, for bilateral talks with Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi.
On the sidelines of ASEAN, US and Chinese officials are holding trade talks in a desperate attempt to de-escalate trade tensions between the two nations.
Mr Trump is talking about new tariffs on Chinese goods, as well as other measures, in retaliation for China’s expanded export controls on rare earth magnets and minerals.
A spokesperson for the US Treasury said talks on Saturday had been “very constructive”.
The talks will likely culminate in a meeting with Mr Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an APEC meeting in South Korea next week.
Beijing is yet to confirm the meeting.
