The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a diverse 11-national bloc, has struggled to project unity and relevance for years. But it faced its latest setback last year when deadly fighting erupted between two members, Thailand and Cambodia, over a longtime border conflict.
Fighting ended with a ceasefire that was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless they agreed. Helping sustain that fragile ceasefire was high on the agenda of the ASEAN foreign ministers’ annual meeting in the central Philippine city of Cebu.
