Global powers converge on Manila as ASEAN summit kicks off

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos (second from left) attends a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Manila on Saturday ahead of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit. | POOL / VIA AFP-JIJI

AFP-Jiji

Nov 15, 2026

Manila – A key regional summit opens on Sunday in Manila, with Southeast Asian heads of state facing questions on trade, security and an ongoing energy crisis while playing host to a who’s who of global leaders.

U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to arrive on Tuesday near the summit’s conclusion, a visit expected to include a sideline meeting with fellow “Quad” countries India, Japan and Australia — the first of his second term.

The meeting of the Quad — a grouping broadly aimed at counterbalancing China’s regional influence — would come days before a historic sit-down with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Shenzhen.

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