US trade war splintering Southeast Asia

DESPITE ITS GEOPOLITICAL heft, Southeast Asia has rarely been more divided. In separately seeking tariff relief from the US, nations from Malaysia to Indonesia have undermined their collective leverage. They have a chance to present a united front at aregional forum this weekend—a move that would ensure they remain credible asa bloc capable of charting its own future.

- KARISHMA VASWANI

President Donald Trump is expected to attend the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Malaysia, which begins on Sunday. Sitting at the heart of the Indo-Pacific—a zone central to both US and Chinese strategic ambitions—the region is vital to global trade and security, with a combined gross domestic product of around $4 trillion. But Asean is not living up to its unity in diversity motto. Trump ’sart-of-the-deal thrives on bilateral bargaining,and many leaders seem eager to play along in the hopes of securing short-term gains.

Inthe run-up tothe summit, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim personally extended an invitation to Trump in an attempt to secure preferential trade terms, despite domestic opposition. Indonesian President Prabowo Subiantowas caught on a hot mic asking the US leader if he could meet his son, discussing what reportedly appeared to bea business venture. Thailand and Cambodia, locked ina volatile border dispute, credited Trump for mediating an uneasy truce. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet even said he’s nominating the US president fora Nobel Peace Prize.