* ASEAN summit is being held in Bangkok
* Trade will be the main topic, diplomats say
* Little discussion of regional problems expected
By Panu Wongcha-um and Patpicha Tanakasempipat
BANGKOK, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian leaders are
expected to voice concern at rising trade tensions during a
regional summit starting on Saturday in the shadow of the
U.S.-China trade war and amid worries at U.S. disengagement from
the region.
The 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) will meet in Bangkok, where they will also hold
talks with representatives of world powers and have discussions
on a regional trade agreement backed by Beijing.
A draft final summit statement seen by Reuters said the
leaders would express "deep concern over the rising trade
tensions and on-going protectionist and anti-globalisation
sentiments."
Trade would be the main topic, diplomats said, with little
discussion expected on perennial regional problems such as
maritime disputes with China over the South China Sea and the
plight of Rohingya refugees driven from Myanmar.
Southeast Asian states are at the sharp end of the trade
war, with growth expected to slow to its lowest in five years
this year. They are also worried at increasing Chinese influence
in a region whose population of 620 million is less than half of
China's.
The United States, an important trade partner, is sending a
delegation to the meetings. But the downgrading of its
delegation compared to those in previous years and to those of
other countries has concerned those who saw Washington as a
security counterweight to Beijing. Instead of President Donald Trump or Vice President Mike
Pence, the United States will be represented by Commerce
Secretary Wilbur Ross and White House national security adviser
Robert O'Brien. China is sending its premier, Li Keqiang.
"The U.S. is signalling that the ASEAN Summit and related
meetings are not as important as other countries are considering
them to be," Kantathi Suphamongkhon, former Thai foreign
minister told Reuters. "This signals that the U.S. is a lesser
player in our area."
WORLD'S BIGGEST TRADE AREA
Southeast Asian states hope to make progress on what could
become the world's biggest free-trade area - the China-backed
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) - comprising
16 countries that account for a third of global gross domestic
product and nearly half the world's population.
Discussions on the agreement have continued since 2012 and
have accelerated during the trade war, but tough issues remain -
including Indian apprehension over giving China greater market
access.
The Thai hosts of the summit have said they hope talks on
the agreement will be concluded this year, but a news conference
on progress among RCEP ministers was cancelled late on Friday
without explanation.
"The finalization of the RCEP negotiation has become a key
test for ASEAN's capacity to deliver on its often-cited
centrality," Marty Natalegawa, a former Indonesian foreign
minister, told Reuters.
Human rights groups said they did not expect the Southeast
Asian countries would do much to address problems such as the
Rohingya refugees or discuss questions such as the growing
authoritarianism in some member states.
"The human rights and democracy battleground is being lost
in ASEAN and it's consequential because it will play into the
hands of the more authoritarian China ... especially when you
have the US under Trump non-committal, not showing up," Thitinan
Pongsudhirak, a scholar at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University,
told Reuters.
(Editing by Matthew Tostevin and Timothy Heritage)