Luckily, the Philippines’ chairmanship of the 2017 Asean Summit coincides with this historic milestone event. On Nov. 11, world leaders started coming to Manila for the 31st Asean Summit and Related Summits. These dialogue partners were US President Donald Trump, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, European Council President Donald Tusk, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 50 years later, traditional power blocs no longer view members of the Asean as lackeys but as strategic partners. Congratulations to the Philippines for the successful chairmanship of Asean 2017.

Source: The Standard November 15, 2017 19:18 UTC