10/05/2026

theSun on Sunday MAY 10, 2026

WORLD 7

Asean wraps up summit with unity call

CEBU: President Ferdinand Marcos said on Friday Asean members were “frustrated” by the years-long failure to successfully implement a five-point peace plan in Myanmar, suggesting “fine-tuning” was in order. “Perhaps the context has changed a little bit. Unfortunately, we have not seen any progress,” he said. A Thai diplomat confirmed that Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow had suggested Asean invite his Myanmar counterpart for a meeting. “We need to change the way we are engaging with Myanmar,” the diplomat said on Friday. Maratee Nalita Andamo, deputy spokesperson for Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Department, said the “proposal was for engagement with Myanmar at the political level, and it was the start of a discussion”. She said it had been received “in a positive light”. However, a potential softening of the 11-member bloc’s stance is not palatable to every member. “Consensus on this matter is fraying,” said Dr Siew Mun Tang, a senior fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute There were member states ready to “let bygones be bygones”. “There’s no way you’re going to turn back the clock, right? So, let’s move forward,” he said in describing the view of those states. He said Thailand’s porous border with Myanmar made it an “urgent national security” issue. Marcos said Asean members had left their Friday afternoon session asking “what more can we do?” Even a small shift in policy could potentially be of benefit, he said. “Sometimes, when you move the parameters one millimetre, it makes all the difference,” he said, insisting that would not mean abandoning human rights. “We’re asking all the member states, all the leaders and their ministries, what that millimetre shift could possibly be. “There are no definitive answers as yet, but we are certainly going to work on it very, very hard.” – AFP ‘Tiny shifts’ in approach to Myanmar

JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities yesterday located two Singaporeans who went missing after Mount Dukono erupted on the Pacific island of Halmahera, officials said, but it was unclear whether they were alive. “We have identified the coordinates of their locations. It’s near the crater rim. This is on LAPU-LAPU CITY: As the 48th Asean Summit and Related Meetings ended on Friday in Cebu, the message from leaders was one of steadiness, stressing that the bloc would respond not with division, but with coordination, diplomacy and collective action. “For Asean, challenges present us with opportunities that have further strengthened our resolve to work more closely, to listen more carefully and to act more purposefully,” President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr said at the summit opening. At Friday’s plenary session, Marcos urged Asean leaders to strengthen regional energy coordination, safeguard food supply chains and protect Asean nationals caught in global crises. “Asean solidarity must be measured by our ability to act in concert to safeguard our peoples wherever they may be,” he said. The summit later adopted an Asean Leaders’ Statement on the Response to the West Asia Crisis, while leaders also pushed for stronger energy security mechanisms, regional food resilience and closer economic cooperation. Marcos said Asean leaders were united in calling for peace in West Asia and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Bloc willing to confront difficulties

Hun Manet (left) and Anutin greet each other at the meeting arranged by Marcos (centre). – AFPPIC

two thermal drones, have been deployed, focusing the search around the crater, covering an area of about 700m, Iwan said. Evacuations were hampered by extreme terrain and continued eruptions. Authorities on Friday evacuated 17 people – seven Singaporeans and 10 Indonesians. – Reuters Marcos and Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung agreed to establish a “long-term rice trade mechanism”, aimed at stabilising rice supply between the Philippines and Vietnam. At a gala dinner on Friday, Marcos reflected on how Asean had once again been tested by events beyond the control of its member states. “The strength of Asean has never depended on the absence of difficulty. It has grown on our willingness to confront difficulties,” he said. – Bernama

volcano in North Maluku province began erupting on Friday, spewing ash as high as 10km. Survivors told police the three missing people were dead, police chief Erlichson Pasaribu said on Friday. At least 100 rescuers, military and police personnel, as well as and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet shaking hands beside Marcos following talks aimed at easing tensions over their border dispute. “This meeting was arranged by the Philippines as a way to provide its good offices in our capacity as chair of Asean for 2026,” Marcos said. The leaders agreed to continue dialogue and extend the work of the Asean Observer Team monitoring the ceasefire. Food security also emerged as a major theme of the summit.

drone footage and is consistent with witness accounts,” said Indonesian rescue agency head Iwan Ramdani. Both appeared to be 20m-30m from the rim of the main crater, said disaster mitigation agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari. Rescuers have not located an Indonesian missing since the Among the summit’s key outcomes was the adoption of the Cebu Protocol amending the Asean Charter, the first amendment since 2007, seen as a major step toward Timor-Leste’s eventual full membership after a 14-year wait. A defining moment unfolded during a trilateral meeting brokered by the Philippines between Thailand and Cambodia. On Thursday evening, cameras captured Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul

Missing Singaporean hikers located near crater of volcano

Tamil Nadu winning party seeks court help HYDERABAD: Movie actor-turned politician Vijay’s party, the winner of April’s Tamil Nadu assembly election, is asking India’s top court to direct the state governor to invite it to form the next government. Vijay met Tamil Nadu governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Friday to stake a claim to form the government.

the governor to take “immediate action” as per the constitution. An Indian state governor’s position is largely ceremonial, but the role can become crucial in constitutional disputes or when elections produce a hung assembly. In Kolkata, Modi and BJP leaders yesterday attended the oath-taking ceremony of West Bengal state chief minister Suvendu Adhikari. Adhikari, 57, is the first BJP chief minister of the eastern state. BJP won 207 seats in the 294-member assembly, ending the 15-year rule of three-term chief minister Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress. – Bernama

TVK has fallen short of the required 118-seat majority, but it has received support from the Indian National Congress and leftist parties to make up for the shortfall. A TVK member has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking directions for the Tamil Nadu governor to invite the single largest party to form the government. Stalin, in a post on X, also raised concerns about the delay in government formation and urged

Vijay emerged as the strongest contender for chief minister’s post after his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) won 108 seats in the 234 member assembly, followed by 59 seats for former chief minister M.K. Stalin’s Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and 47 for the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), a regional party allied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Modi congratulating Adhikari in Kolkata. – AFPPIC