ASEAN who’s who: Regional, global leaders converge in Manila for year-end summit
MANILA, Philippines — Heads of state and governments, as well as heads of multilateral organizations, will be converging in Manila from November 15 to 17 for the 49th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits.
The week-long event is the biggest in Manila’s chairmanship of the regional bloc and the most consequential, at least in flexing the bloc’s “unique convening power and continued role as a platform for dialogue and cooperation with the wider international community,” according to a press statement from the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Leaders are expected to discuss “ASEAN’s collective capacity to address emerging regional and global challenges, including the situation in Myanmar.”
ASEAN has had to contend with instability in the supply and price of oil, no thanks to the war the US and Israel waged on Iran. ASEAN leaders are expected, as they had in previous years, to review progress or lack thereof in Myanmar’s adherence to the Five-Point Consensus or the ASEAN-adopted peace plan for its Southeast Asian sibling.
Manila had hoped to conclude the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea negotiations between ASEAN and China by 2026, as agreed upon by foreign ministers in 2023. Negotiations are far from over and no code is expected by mid-November 2026.
All meetings and summits, including bilateral or minilateral meetings on the sidelines between leaders, will take place at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.
November 15 kicks off the event, with nine Southeast Asian leaders joining Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for the opening, plenary, and retreat sessions. Myanmar, which has not participated in ASEAN Summits since 2021 after a junta takeover, will be represented by the director-general of its Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ ASEAN Affairs Department.
For the plenary, ASEAN leaders will be joined by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Brazilian President Lula da Silva, and the International Monetary Fund as guests of the ASEAN chair.
“Their participation underscores the value of ASEAN’s engagement with key global partners in advancing regional economic resilience and addressing shared challenges in an increasingly interconnected global economy, in line with Philippines’ Chairship priorities particularly under its Prosperity Corridors,” said the DFA.
From November 16 to 17, Manila will host the related summits and plus-one summits under ASEAN. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Chinese Premiere Li Qiang, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japan Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae, New Zealand Primer Minister Christopher Luxon, Korean President Lee Jae-myung, and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres will be flying in to co-chair those meetings with Marcos. Russia’s delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov.
This will be Guterres’ last engagement with ASEAN as the world’s chief diplomat. The 10th UN secretary-general is expected to be selected and appointed before the end of Guterres’ term on December 31, 2026.
US President Donald Trump is expected to arrive in Manila on November 17 yet and is unlikely to join the main summits under the 49th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits. The Philippines is expected to host a Special ASEAN-US Summit on the same day.
Marcos will ceremonially hand over chairmanship to Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at the end of the summit, although the Philippines will only officially cease its chairship by year’s end.
The Philippines had allocated over P17.5 billion for its chairmanship, although hosting duties were scaled down in the wake of the oil crisis earlier in 2026. Many meetings, including ones at the ministerial-level, shifted online.
Major meetings expected on the 17th include the ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan, South Korea) Summit and the East Asia Summit, the premiere leaders-level forum in the region. – Rappler.com
