Name: Trump’s ASEAN visit marks Indo-Pacific shift, says bloc chief
Uploaded: 2025-10-27T02:16:22.075Z
Duration: 4 min 42 s
Description: ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn says President Trump’s attendance at the summit underscores a strategic U.S. pivot in the region, with trade deals and Myanmar peace talks in focus.

ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn says President Trump’s attendance at the summit underscores a strategic U.S. pivot in the region, with trade deals and Myanmar peace talks in focus.

Sepang

ASEAN officials emphasized the importance of the recent visit by President Trump to the 13th ASEAN-U.S. summit, describing it as a significant moment for the bloc's evolving partnership with the United States. The summit, which included the signing of several agreements and bilateral meetings, was seen as reinforcing ASEAN's central role in the Indo-Pacific region.

Discussions also addressed ongoing challenges, notably the situation in Myanmar. ASEAN leaders reiterated their commitment to the five-point consensus aimed at supporting peace and stability in Myanmar, acknowledging the complexity of the situation and the need for continued engagement. Myanmar remains part of ASEAN, though currently represented at a non-political level, as the bloc works towards progress in the region.

Trump’s ASEAN visit marks Indo-Pacific shift, says bloc chief

ASEAN and the United States have an enduring partnership. In fact, we will be celebrating our 50th anniversary in 2027, of course, during the Trump administration. And the visit by President Trump yesterday, and of course, he attended the ASEAN-US summit, the 13th ASEAN-U.S. summit, was significant in terms of what is happening in the region, of course, what's happening around the world. And his presence, of course, has given that important significance to the ASEAN-U.S. Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Because in 2022, we had our strategic partnership being elevated to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. So again, having President Trump in KL for the 13th ASEAN-U.S. summit was significant in that regard. And at the same time, of course, there were a number of agreements were signed on the sidelines as well. Of course, also, some of our leaders had the opportunity to have bilateral summits on the sidelines as well. So I think that was indeed significant. Because we want to, ASEAN, we want to say that we are at the heart of the Indo-Pacific. And we are. And I think the fact that we're able to have this convening power, to have all the major powers, all the great powers here in ASEAN for the ASEAN summit, and that was a historic milestone. Right. Secretary, there have been a lot of milestones and a lot of achievements here with regards to peace. We talked about the Kuala Lumpur Accords that finally brings a lasting ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia, the accession of Timor-Leste. But of course, we do have also one member nation that's not here at the moment, Myanmar. And again, there are questions as to whether or not ASEAN can effectively broker stability or peace in that particular country. Foreign Minister of Malaysia, Muhammad Hassan, also says that the peace plan is not hard to implement. But skeptics might say, if that's the case, why is it not being implemented? Do you feel that more can be done with regards to helping one of our member states, one of ASEAN member states at least, find more stability amidst all that's happened over the last couple of years? Well, you know, ASEAN has been engaging in quite diplomacy. I see in Myanmar, since the situation started back in 2021, ASEAN has come up with the five-point consensus. And since then, we have been implementing the five-point consensus to support Myanmar. But, you know, we have to be very patient with the fact that the situation is very complex. And we have to engage Myanmar through the mechanism that has been set up. Number one, of course, we have the role of ASEAN chair and the special envoy of ASEAN chair in Myanmar that have been working on since Brunei was the chair of ASEAN, then followed by Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, and of course, the state of Malaysia. And there have been some, what are called, limited progress there. I mean, you can imagine if there's no ASEAN in engaging with Myanmar, how the situation would be. You know, we probably could be worsening it all, perhaps. But I think the fact that we have the role of ASEAN is there to work closely to engage Myanmar, to make sure that we, number one, of course, trying to contain, reduce, if not eliminate violence on the ground and by engaging all the stakeholders in Myanmar. And that's through the political process, what we've been doing through the role of ASEAN chair and the special envoy of ASEAN chair. Now we have the informal consultation among the Troika through an open format, meaning all other ASEAN foreign minister can participate also in the meeting. And that's what, of course, we did on Friday this week before the summit, the ASEAN foreign minister met through this, what we call, open-ended meeting along with the Troikas, who regularly engage with Myanmar. Yes, Myanmar's been represented at the 47th ASEAN summit, but at a non-political representative level. So they're not completely out. They remain part of ASEAN at the moment. And of course, we are working very hard to make sure that we're able to make progress. But the fact that the situation remains very complicated and very challenging.

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