On May 20, the Ministry of Commerce announced that China and ASEAN member states have completed negotiations on Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, or CAFTA 3.0. Dino Patti Djalal, former vice-minister of foreign affairs of Indonesia, called it "a huge development in terms of global economic cooperation".

Southeast Asian nations will forge a common front to face challenges including economic headwinds from U.S. tariffs and a four-year civil war in Myanmar, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Monday.

The GCC, China, ASEAN countries pledged to promote trade and work to ‘unleash the full potential of our partnership’.

The GCC’s pivot to the East is a “pragmatic move," says Joanne Lin, senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

Southeast Asian nations held a summit Tuesday with China and six Persian Gulf countries in efforts to expand economic engagement as they grapple with U.S. tariff hikes.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday urged Southeast Asian and Gulf countries to remove trade barriers and expand opening up amid rising protectionism, and said Beijing is confident it can stabilise its economy in the face of challenges.

A regional association of Southeast Asian nations is set to hold a three-way summit Tuesday with China and six Gulf countries in what officials called an effort to bolster economic resilience as they grapple with global volatility and U.

East Timor said Thursday it would deport a former Filipino congressman charged with multiple murders in the Philippines and added that he was a national security threat whose presence could damage the country's image ahead of its entry to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth met with Southeast Asian defense leaders from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines