BANGKOK: A group of Southeast Asian leaders will meet in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh this week, faced with the challenge of trying to quell increasing violence in Buddhist Myanmar while the nation's military-run government remains intransigent in its discussion with the bloc's advisers.

President of the United States Joe Biden will attend the ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh at a time when Washington and Beijing are increasingly competing for influence in the Asia-Pacific region.

It prepares the ground for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bangkok and the Group of 20 meetings in Bali, Indonesia, which are both scheduled to feature Chinese President Xi Jinping and potentially Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The four-day gatherings are anticipated to centre on Myanmar and ongoing South China Sea tensions, pandemic recovery difficulties, regional commerce, and climate change.

Both Xi and Putin are not anticipated to attend the ASEAN discussions or the concurrent East Asia Summit, but it is believed that both China and Russia will send high-level delegations led by Prime Minister Li Keqiang and perhaps Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia's search for new markets for its energy resources, supply chain and food security challenges as a result, China's increasingly aggressive sabre-rattling over Taiwan, and escalating tension on the Korean Peninsula all loom big over ASEAN, the G-20, and APEC.
Biden will be able to advance American interests and make clear Washington's renewed commitment to the area by physically being there at the ASEAN summit, according to Thomas Daniel, a specialist with Malaysia's Institute of Strategic and International Studies.

After 2017, former U.S. President Donald Trump skipped the summits, and at the 2017 gatherings, he left before the East Asia Summit's plenary session, a crucial regional strategic discussion, allowing then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to fill his place.

The U.S. has been granted "comprehensive strategic partnership" status with ASEAN. That puts Washington on the same level as China, which was granted the status last year.
The United States will concentrate on "carrying out everything we've promised rather than coming forward with another long list of new initiatives," a U.S. official said. The United States is working on a "broad range of diplomatic priorities" for the Asia-Pacific region.

China's foreign ministry is "committed to its foreign policy of maintaining world peace and promoting common developments".

Cambodia has invited Ukraine to participate in the event and its foreign minister is expected to make an official visit.

It is unclear if the Ukrainian leader will be able to address the summit in person.

The U.S. is working with its ASEAN friends to "ensure that Ukraine meaningfully participates" in the East Asia Summit. Deputy Secretary of State John Kritenbrink told the APEC summit in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. He said big countries cannot simply take what they want from smaller neighbours.

ASEAN, which includes Myanmar, has tried to play a peacemaking role since shortly after the country’s military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and seized power in February 2021.

It calls for the immediate cessation of violence, a dialogue among all parties, mediation by an ASEAN special envoy, the provision of humanitarian aid, and a visit to Myanmar by the special envoy to meet all sides.

It calls for an immediate cessation of violence and calls for mediation by an ASEAN special envoy.

Myanmar has rejected the idea of sending non-political representation to the summit, though working-level officials have joined some pre-summit meetings.

In August, ASEAN foreign ministers issued a joint statement criticizing Myanmar for its lack of progress but did little else, opting to leave the issue to the leaders in Phnom Penh.

However, it is possible that the leaders will wait until Indonesia, which has taken a tougher stance on Myanmar, assumes the presidency of the bloc in 2023 before taking more decisive action.

"There is always the possibility that they will choose to postpone and kick this down the road again," Daniel, the analyst, said.