MANILA -- Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ended their summit Saturday, discussing threats to regional peace and stability, particularly on the Korean Peninsula and in the South China Sea, and other issues relevant to the 10-member regional bloc.
"We exchanged views on regional and international issues of common interest and concern...We had engaged in a productive and fruitful deliberation of ASEAN's work in the community building process," Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who chaired the meeting, said at the summit's closing press conference.
"We acknowledged the importance of ASEAN cooperation in addressing issues that affect peace, security and prosperity of the region including terrorism, violent extremism, piracy, human trafficking and illegal drugs," he said.
Duterte and some ASEAN foreign ministers said the leaders discussed the tension on the Korean Peninsula and agreed that the United States should tone down its confrontation stance toward North Korea and give China the chance to rein it in.
The Philippine president unexpectedly did not read out an ASEAN chairman's statement with an official summary of the event, and hours after the meeting was over, the document had still not been released.
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