Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called for a “fiercely independent ASEAN” on Tuesday, as leaders from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and China gathered in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur for a series of high-level summits.
Regional leaders are meeting after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened draconian tariffs on export-reliant Southeast Asian economies like Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia unless they come to the table offering concessions. Those tariffs are now paused until early July as trading partners rush to negotiate trade agreements with Washington.
