Southeast Asian leaders begin summit amid 'major power rivalries'

By James Pearson
HANOI, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian leaders kicked off
a multilateral summit on Thursday expected to address tensions
in the South China Sea and tackle plans for a post-pandemic
economic recovery in a region where U.S.-China rivalry has been
rising.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has so
far not been "drawn into the maelstroms" of those rivalries and
challenges to the international multilateral system, Vietnamese
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in his opening remarks at
the 37th ASEAN Summit in Hanoi.
"Three quarters of a century have passed since the end of
the Second World War. World peace and security, however, are not
yet truly sustainable," said Phuc, whose government holds the
chairmanship of the 10-member bloc in 2020.
"This year, they are particularly under greater threat as a
result of compounding risks arising from the unpredictable
conduct of states, major power rivalries and frictions," Phuc
said.
High on the summit's agenda will be tensions in the South
China Sea, where Chinese ships have been embroiled in periodic
standoffs with vessels from Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia as
Beijing seeks to assert its territorial claims in the disputed
waterway.
China claims about 80% of the sea including large swathes of
Vietnam's exclusive economic zone, or EEZ, as well as the
Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands. It also overlaps the EEZs
of ASEAN members Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the
Philippines.
Since mid-August, the United States has repeatedly riled
China by sending warships to the South China Sea and has
blacklisted 24 Chinese entities over their involvement in
building and militarising artificial islands.
ASEAN leaders are also expected to sign the China-backed
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on Sunday in
what could become the world's biggest trade agreement.
The deal, which comes at a time when tensions over the U.S.
election result leave questions over Washington's engagement in
the region, will likely cement China's position more firmly as
an economic partner with Southeast Asia, Japan and Korea, and
put it in a better position to shape the region's trade rules.