Foreign Ministers from South East Asia attend 52nd ASEAN summit

Foreign Ministers from South East Asia are attending the 52nd ASEAN summit in Bangkok. The annual meeting opened with a call from the host Thailand for deeper integration to expand trade and bolster prosperity in the region amid rising global challenges.

The meeting takes place in the shadow of rising security tension on the Korean Peninsula, China's aggressive territorial claims in the South China Sea and the US-China trade



war.

ASEAN, seeking to boost its own voice as a global player, also plays host to a series of foreign ministers from key strategic and dialogue partners, including US, China and Russia.

ASEAN leaders at their summit meeting in June adopted an Indo-Pacific engagement framework that sought to find a middle ground and keep on the good side of both Washington and Beijing.