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Foreign Ministers, and country representatives, left to right, Laos Minister of Foreign Affairs, Saleumxay Kommasith, unidentified official, Myanmar’s Union Minister for International Cooperation, U Kyaw Tin, Philippines Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Alan Peter Cayetano, Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pham Binh Minh, Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Thailand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai, unidentified official, Cambodia’s Senior Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Prak Sokhonn, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Security, Wiranto, Indonesia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi, and ASEAN Secretary-General, Lim Jock Hoi, pose for a group photo during the 17th ASEAN Political-Security Community Council Meeting on Friday, April 27, 2018, in Singapore. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) |
Associated Press
SINGAPORE
Singapore’s prime minister says Southeast Asian countries are working closely with new powers China and India to counter the pressure of protectionism and ensure continued growth.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (LEE SHIEN LONG) told his counterparts from the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations at the opening of a summit Saturday that regional economic growth is under threat because the political mood in many countries has turned against free trade. He says recent trade tensions between the U.S. and China, in particular, are worrying.
The U.S. and China are entangled in their most consequential trade dispute since World War II. Both countries have proposed tariffs of $50 billion on each other’s products; President Donald Trump is looking to impose tariffs of up to $100 billion more on Chinese goods.
