Iran Press/ Asia: Meetings hosted by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations resumed on Sunday with doubts emerging on whether the weekend would see a breakthrough in talks on the world’s largest regional trade pact.
According to Bangkok Post, the summit has seen speeches from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Russian Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, and New Zealand leader Jacinda Ardern. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien lead the US delegation, which has been downgraded from previous years.
Also on the agendas of the summit, the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has been jeopardized by last-minute requests from India after it earlier agreed to terms, leading a Thai spokeswoman to say the deal is unlikely to be signed until February 2020 at the earliest. Leaders had planned to announce a preliminary deal on Monday, paving the way for countries to finalize details on the legal framework of an agreement that would cover one-third of the global economy, but the Philippines said Saturday that negotiations now wouldn’t be completed until February.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that the country and Asian countries should work together on cybersecurity issues and called for legislation regulating the transfer of personal data in an afternoon speech.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc Sunday amid a standoff between the countries in the South China Sea, saying the two sides should properly address maritime issues and create favourable conditions for expanding cooperation. 207/211/219
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