Southeast Asian leaders face rights questions, flying shoe on Washington debut

FILE PHOTO: Flags are seen outside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) secretariat building, ahead of the ASEAN leaders' meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, April 23, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

The Biden administration hopes a first-ever Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit hosted in Washington this week will demonstrate U.S. commitment to a region where it is vying with Beijing for influence, but the region's leaders faced questions, and at least one awkward moment, over human rights and democracy.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia since 1985 but was not until now invited to the White House, was the target of a shoe-throwing protester in Washington on Wednesday, photos and video posted on the Khmer-language website monoroom.info showed.