ASEAN Summit held in Laos

25.07.2016
Laos

Representatives of the ASEAN block, which includes Brunei, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, will discuss regional issues. The event will also be attended by visiting high-ranking guests from other countries.

 

The issue of the South China Sea

The summit also discussed territorial disputes in the South China Sea. After the Philippines won in the UN court dispute with China over ownership of the islands, Beijing has been under pressure from the US and other countries. However, Cambodia has acted on the Chinese side, thus destroying the unity of China's opponents. As a result, a statement on the South China Sea was not accepted.

Japan and South Korea will discuss the threat posed by North Korea during the summit.

 

The meeting between Lavrov and Kerry

On July 26th in Vientiane, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is to meet with US State Secretary John Kerry. The last time they met in Moscow, Kerry suggested that cooperation on Syria be along the US model. Since the proposal was to ask the US which are terrorist groups and which are not, such a model was unacceptable to Moscow. After that Russian Air Forces hit a joint base, which was used by the US, UK military and the "moderate opposition".

It is obvious that Kerry will try to convince Lavrov again to sign some sort of agreement that is beneficial for Washington.

According to the Russian media, Lavrov is going to raise the issue with Kerry about the recent detention of a Russian citizen in Thailand at the US's request.

Related links
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Russia-ASEAN Summit to be held in Russian Sochi
South-Eastern Asia and Pacific: Trends and Forecast for 2016
ASEAN
Laos
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