China hosts ASEAN ministers to push back against Quad

China hosts foreign ministers from the 10 ASEAN countries with Beijing pushing for closer economic cooperation and aligning COVID-19 recovery efforts even as it looks to push back against the recent regional outreach of the Quad grouping.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2021

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a regional organization that brings together disparate neighbors to address economic, security, and political issues, but the group’s impact remains limited.

It is an intergovernmental organization of ten Southeast Asian countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The bloc’s biggest success has been promoting economic integration among members. It also helped negotiate the RCEP agreement to create one of the world’s largest free trade blocs.

ASEAN has struggled to form a cohesive response to China’s claims in the South China Sea, which conflict with those of several members.