Harris held her own talks with Southeast Asian leaders on "the importance of upholding international law in the South China Sea", according to a statement from her office. "It's a sign of the Asean convening power but lately we can say that the East Asia summit is broken. It has been turned into a forum for talking points," said Aaron Connelly, senior fellow at Singapore-based think tank IISS. Li travelled on a Chinese-funded high-speed train project between capital Jakarta and the Javan city of Bandung with a senior Indonesian minister on Wednesday. Harris held separate meetings with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr -- both ASEAN members -- on the sidelines of the summit.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha September 07, 2023 03:21 UTC