An ASEAN Summit Consumed by Middle East Worries

Welcome to Foreign Policy’s Southeast Asia Brief. The highlights this week: The ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting takes place amid geopolitical turmoil, concerns about the governance of Indonesia’s president intensify, and we look at what’s new in Trump’s latest round of tariffs. ASEAN Summit Dominated by Middle East Last week’s meeting of the foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Manila took place against a backdrop of continued turmoil. The South China Sea and the war in the Middle East overshadowed proceedings as both China and the United States continued their track record of shooting themselves in the foot. On July 20, a clash at the Second Thomas Shoal between China’s coast guard and Philippine navy left a Filipino sailor injured. The Philippines a