The three-day summit in Manila will also include meetings with Asian and Western leaders, including US President Donald Trump. His visit to Asia comes after his party's defeat in the midterm elections and could help strengthen his political standing.ASEAN Summit 2026 Manila,Nov 15, 2026 14:48 ISTSoutheast Asian leaders began their annual summit on Sunday, with discussions expected to focus on conflicts in the Middle East, the South China Sea and Myanmar, according to a report carried by news agency Press Trust of India.The three-day summit in Manila will also include meetings with Asian and Western leaders, including US President Donald Trump.
His visit to Asia comes after his party's defeat in the midterm elections and could help strengthen his political standing.Drafts of statements to be issued after the summit indicate that leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will focus on the world's major conflicts, particularly the war in the Middle East.Trump is expected to arrive in Manila with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday afternoon, after the main ASEAN meetings conclude and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr hands the regional bloc's rotating annual leadership to Singapore, Philippine officials cited in the report said. ASEAN leaders are likely to renew calls for restraint and peaceful resolutions to conflicts, including long-standing disputes in the South China Sea and the civil war in Myanmar.
They are also expected to discuss efforts to protect their economies and citizens from the continuing effects of global conflicts.“We reaffirmed our shared commitment to upholding international law, including the United Nations Charter,” the leaders' draft statement said. The statement also underlined the “importance of the peaceful resolution of disputes, upholding freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the sea, including the right of transit passage in straits used for international navigation”.In his opening remarks, Marcos said it was crucial for the 11-member regional bloc to remain united despite its diversity. “That commitment matters even more as the waters around us turn on shifting tides, geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, new technologies, climate change and transnational threats,” he told ASEAN leaders at a convention centre by Manila Bay.Marcos warned that problems across the world “are reshaping our region faster than any one country can respond to alone”.However, unity has often been difficult for ASEAN, which includes democracies and authoritarian states, with many members aligned with either the United States or China.
The report noted that the bloc has struggled to deal effectively with regional conflicts, including those in Myanmar and the South China Sea.Trump will join three key meetings late on Tuesday, including a meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, comprising the United States, Japan, Australia and India. The grouping is widely viewed as a counterweight to China.
He will also attend a special summit with ASEAN leaders over cocktails, according to Philippine officials cited by PTI.Trump will meet Marcos on Wednesday and receive a red-carpet welcome and a state luncheon at the presidential palace in Manila. They are expected to renew their commitment to the decades-old treaty alliance between their countries before travelling separately to Shenzhen in China for the APEC summit hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping.“The short stop in Manila will help reassure allies and partners that they aren't being forgotten before he jets off to Shenzhen to focus on meetings with Xi,” US-based geopolitical analyst Greg Poling said.Poling said the Republicans' midterm election setback would follow Trump during his Asia visit. “In China, the administration has been trying to lower expectations; there will be no substantive progress made between Trump and Xi,” he said. “With Trump politically weakened after the midterm drubbing here, it is likely that the Chinese side will be even less interested in making any compromises.”China will be represented at the Manila summit by Premier Li Qiang, who will meet ASEAN leaders on Monday but leave before Trump arrives, Philippine officials said.The summit will therefore centre on ASEAN's calls for unity, respect for international law and peaceful settlements, while Trump's meetings in Manila and China will draw attention after the Republicans' electoral setback.- Ends