Global powers converge on Manila as ASEAN summit kicks off

Detailed summary

Much of the uproar targets the US Pax Silica program -- a supply-chain initiative designed to counter China's dominance in semiconductors and rare earths -- whose flagship Philippine project, a 1,620-hectare AI manufacturing hub north of Manila, threatens to displace Indigenous families.

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Much of the uproar targets the US Pax Silica program -- a supply-chain initiative designed to counter China's dominance in semiconductors and rare earths -- whose flagship Philippine project, a 1,620-hectare AI manufacturing hub north of Manila, threatens to displace Indigenous families.

key regional summit opens on Sunday in Manila, with Southeast Asian heads of state facing questions on trade, security and an ongoing energy crisis while playing host to a who's who of global leaders.

US President Donald Trump is scheduled to arrive on Tuesday near the summit's conclusion, a visit expected to include a sideline meeting with fellow Quad countries India, Japan and Australia -- the first of his second term.

The meeting of the Quad -- a grouping broadly aimed at counterbalancing China's regional influence -- would come days before a historic sit-down with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin in Shenzhen.

Brazil's recently re-elected Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, meanwhile, is set to attend a plenary session of the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Sunday, while Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will sign a new defense pact with host country the Philippines.

Nearly 20,000 police officers have been deployed around Metro Manila for the summit, with progressive groups predicting a turnout of thousands on Tuesday for an anti-Trump march on the summit site.

Much of the uproar targets the US Pax Silica program -- a supply-chain initiative designed to counter China's dominance in semiconductors and rare earths -- whose flagship Philippine project, a 1,620-hectare AI manufacturing hub north of Manila, threatens to displace Indigenous families.

US Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton said last week that a widely rumoured November target date for a deal…

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Jakarta Post. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.