Southeast Asian leaders and global partners, including U.S. President Donald Trump, will gather in Kuala Lumpur from 26 to 28 October to discuss trade, regional conflicts and global security, with East Timor set to join ASEAN as its 11th member.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will hold its annual summit in Malaysia from Sunday, drawing world leaders for talks expected to focus on U.S.–China trade tensions, regional security and economic cooperation.
President Trump is attending alongside top U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Other leaders include China’s Premier Li Qiang, Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
U.S. and Chinese officials are expected to hold trade discussions in Malaysia ahead of Trump’s arrival, seeking to ease friction over Beijing’s rare earth export curbs. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will meet Bessent and Greer from 24 to 27 October in an effort to avert new U.S. trade measures before a possible Trump–Xi meeting in South Korea next week.
Regional tensions are also on the agenda. Thailand and Cambodia are due to sign a ceasefire to end their border conflict, which claimed several lives in July. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Trump helped broker the truce in July, with Cambodia later nominating the U.S. president for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Malaysia will host a concurrent summit for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s largest trade bloc, covering about 30% of global GDP. Leaders will discuss expanding membership and boosting trade flows across Asia-Pacific economies, including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
ASEAN will also formally admit East Timor as its 11th member on 26 October, concluding a 14-year accession process. The country, Southeast Asia’s poorest with around 1.4 million people, first applied for membership in 2011 and gained observer status in 2022.
Trump’s presence — his first ASEAN summit since 2017 — underscores Washington’s bid to reinforce regional alliances amid growing competition with Beijing across Southeast Asia.
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The U.S.-Iran crisis has entered its third day, with further strikes reported across the Middle East and the death toll rising. Oil prices have surged to levels last seen during the Covid-19 pandemic, raising fears of economic disruption and higher prices worldwide.
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China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov following recent military strikes carried out by the United States and Israel on targets in Iran, as tensions in the Middle East continue to rise.
Follow the latest developments and global reaction after the U.S. and Israel launched “major combat operations” in Iran, prompting retaliation from Tehran.
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The Kremlin is utilising the recent United States and Israeli military strikes on Iran to validate its ongoing war in Ukraine. Russian officials are pointing to the escalation in the Middle East as evidence that Western nations do not adhere to international rules.
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The Kremlin is utilising the recent United States and Israeli military strikes on Iran to validate its ongoing war in Ukraine. Russian officials are pointing to the escalation in the Middle East as evidence that Western nations do not adhere to international rules.
European Union stands with its member states in the face of any threat, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in response to the drone strike that hit Britain's Royal Air Force base of Akrotiri in southern Cyprus overnight.
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