This is a special year for our region. This month, Southeast Asian capitals play host to three major summits. Cambodia hosted the Asean Summit from Nov 10-13 and the G20 Summit has just been held in Bali, Indonesia. This weekend, Thailand hosts the annual leaders' summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec).
Without any doubt, the key objective of Apec is for leaders to promote economic growth and investment among Pacific Rim countries. But the reality is that the core objectives will be overshadowed by the continuing US-China rivalry in which Asean member states will be pressured to take sides.
