Showman-in-Chief Steals the ASEAN Spotlight
Trump turns a modest ceasefire into a made-for-TV “peace deal,” choreographing his own diplomatic pageant as Southeast Asia shrugs and quietly moves on with deeper integration.
🇨🇳 Trump Wants China to Sanction Russia — My Take on CNN: “It Ain’t Gonna Happen” - U.S. President Donald Trump says he’d like China “to help us out with Russia, put very big sanctions on Russia.” I joined CNN anchor Fredricka Whitfield to explain why that’s highly unlikely. Beijing has far too much skin in the game — from discounted Russian oil to a shared interest in undermining Western unity — to turn its back on Moscow. 🎙️ Watch my full analysis from Moldova on what this means for the war in Ukraine, global trade dynamics, and Western diplomacy.
Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to cease all hostilities at the disputed border area and release captured soldiers, as part of what United States President Donald Trump hailed at the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia as a “peace deal” and an “incredible job for humanity.” According to US news outlet Politico, Trump’s participation at the ASEAN summit was contingent on whether the bloc would hold an official ceasefire ceremony with him at the helm. But, when pressed if the agreement could be categorised as a “peace deal”, Thailand’s foreign minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said at a separate press conference on Sunday: “I would call it a pathway to peace.” Trump presided over the signing of the agreement by Thailand Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Manet on Sunday (Oct 26) on the sidelines of the summit. According to Trump, the deal includes both countries agreeing to cease all hostilities, 18 detained Cambodian soldiers being released, and observers from ASEAN, including Malaysia, to be deployed to make sure that the peace prevails and endures. “I have no doubt that it will,” said Trump, adding that the deal could save “millions of lives”. “On behalf of the United States, I’m proud to help settle this conflict and forge a future for the region where proud independent nations can prosper and thrive (with) safety, security and peace,” he added. He said that when fighting broke out between both countries in July, his administration “immediately began working to prevent the conflict from escalating.” - CNA
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that he expected that China would not impose export controls on rare earths and that the United States would not impose 100 percent tariffs on China. In separate interviews on NBC, CBS and ABC, Bessent said that trade negotiations with China had been very productive. The talks were in anticipation of President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping this week. “The president had given me maximum leverage when he threatened 100% tariffs if the Chinese imposed their rare earth global export controls. So I think we have averted that, so that the tariffs will be averted,” Bessent told Martha Raddatz on ABC’s “This Week” about talks with China’s vice premier, He Lifeng. Bessent added: “We also agreed on substantial agriculture purchases for U.S. farmers. We agreed that the Chinese would begin to help us with the precursor chemicals for this terrible fentanyl epidemic that’s ravaging our country. So I would say that it was a very good meeting overall.”
Trump is to meet with Xi this week on his Asia trip. “I believe that we have the framework for the two leaders to have a very productive meeting for both sides,” Bessent said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” - CNN
Asia’s youngest nation East Timor on Sunday became the 11th member of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN, fulfilling a vision set out by its current president nearly a half-century ago while under Portuguese rule. Also known as Timor-Leste, the country of 1.4 million people is among Asia’s poorest and hopes to see gains from integrating its fledgling economy, which at about $2 billion represents only a tiny fraction of ASEAN’s collective $3.8 trillion gross domestic product. East Timor’s accession to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations follows a 14-year wait and though its membership is not expected to be transformative, it represents a symbolic victory for its President Jose Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, the heroes of its struggle for independence. An emotional Gusmao said it was a historic moment for his country, with a new beginning that would bring “immense opportunities” for trade and investment - Reuters
“For the people of Timor-Leste, this is not only a dream realised, but a powerful affirmation of our journey. Our accession is a testament to the spirit of our people, a young democracy, born from our struggle. This is not the end of a journey” - East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao
President Vladimir Putin said Russia has successfully tested the nuclear-powered, nuclear-weapon capable Burevestnik cruise missile and is seeking ways to deploy it at a time when the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine drags on. The Kremlin published a video on October 26 of a meeting between Putin and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, which reportedly took place at a command post of the joint group of forces. Gerasimov said the test occurred five days earlier, when the missile, which Moscow claims cannot be detected by any defense system, traveled 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles) and was in the air for about 15 hours. The missile, dubbed Skyfall by NATO, has been under development for more than a decade. It’s one of several new systems Russian designers have focused on as the Kremlin pours money into weapons development as part of a not fully recognized arms race -- mainly against the United States. The advancement of the project comes after Putin’s war on Ukraine entered its 45th month with Russian troops grinding out incremental gains - RFE/RL
Investigators from a special police unit have made arrests in connection with the theft of crown jewels from Paris’s Louvre museum, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said on Sunday, a week after a heist at the world’s most visited museum that stunned the world. She said investigators made the arrests on Saturday evening, adding that one of the men taken into custody was preparing to leave the country from Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport. French media BFM TV and Le Parisien newspaper earlier reported that two suspects had been arrested and taken into custody. Beccuau did not confirm the number of people arrested. Beccuau said the special police unit that apprehended the suspects is in charge of armed robberies and art thefts. After information on the arrests was leaked to the press earlier on Sunday, Beccuau warned such leaks could hinder the work of the more than 100 investigators who have been “mobilised to recover the stolen jewels and apprehend all of the perpetrators”. According to Le Parisien, which first broke the story, the two suspects are in their 30s and originally from the capital’s Seine-Saint-Denis suburb, which includes some of the country’s most deprived areas, and were known to French police. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez praised “the investigators who have worked tirelessly, just as I asked them to, and who have always had my full confidence”. - France 24
Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia says U.S. President Donald Trump’s outrage toward Canada over an anti-tariff advertisement by the Ontario government is “a temper tantrum” that will blow over — but it’s embarrassing for the United States. “It’s just one more example of super childish behaviour by the president,” Kaine told CBC News. “The ad was a very fair ad.”
Catch up on the fallout from the ad as well as my opinion on what Canada should do next in this exclusive World Briefing video……
At least five Pakistani soldiers and 25 militants were killed in clashes near the border with Afghanistan, the military said on Sunday. The attacks come as Afghan and Pakistani delegations hold talks in Istanbul following the recent ceasefire. The clashes between their armies earlier this month marked the worst border fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power in 2021. The Pakistani military’s media wing, ISPR, said that Afghan militants tried to cross the border at two locations in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The military said that the timing “cast doubts on intentions of interim Afghan government with regards to addressing the issue of terrorism emanating from its soil.” It added that the interim Afghan government “is expected to fulfil its obligations of Doha Agreement and deny the use of Afghan soil” against Pakistan. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said he would get the conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan solved “very quickly.” “Although I heard that Pakistan and Afghanistan have started up, but I’ll get that solved very quickly,” Trump said on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur. - DW
Hamas has expanded its search for bodies of hostages in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian group said Sunday, a day after Egypt deployed a team of experts and heavy equipment to help retrieve them. Under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, which took effect on Oct. 10, Hamas is expected to return the remains of all Israeli hostages as soon as possible. Israel has agreed to return 15 bodies of Palestinians for each one. Children and others watched the Egyptian equipment claw through the sand near badly damaged buildings in the southern city of Khan Younis. Hamas has returned the remains of 15 hostages but hasn’t handed over any in five days. Israel has returned the bodies of 195 Palestinians, many of them unidentified. More complicated steps lie ahead under the ceasefire plan, including the disarming of Hamas and the postwar governance of famine-stricken Gaza, where the U.N. and partners continue to urge Israel to allow in more humanitarian aid. International media have been barred from Gaza aside from brief visits with Israel’s military, and Israel on Sunday said that hadn’t changed - AP
The journals…..
