ASEAN summit: Who’s attending and what’s at stake?

Southeast Asian countries that comprise the ASEAN economic bloc will meet in the Philippines this week as the region continues to bear the brunt of oil shortages caused by the US-Israel war on Iran, as well as by US-China rivalry, which has hit economies hard. The Manila summit will be held from November 15 to 17 and will include US President Donald Trump and several other world leaders. The 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) aims to establish a single market, although it cannot impose decisions on members. It comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and East Timor, with a combined population of nearly 694 million, or 8.4 percent of the world’s population.