China hosts Asean foreign ministers

ASEAN

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, is a regional & intergovernmental organisation of 10 countries of southeast Asia.
ASEAN was established in 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration).
Its members are Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar, Philippines, Brunei and Vietnam.
The organisation aims to accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavours in the spirit of equality and partnership. They work towards the progress of the southeast Asia region.

China hosted 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.
China pledged to provide Covid-19 vaccines and cooperate in vaccine research with Southeast Asian countries as it aims to boost influence in the region to counter the US amid recent military incidents involving the Philippines and Malaysia in the South China Sea.

The grouping of four democracies – India, Australia, US and Japan – known as the quadrilateral security dialogue or quad, was first mooted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007. Quad was revived in 2017.
The QUAD partners share a commitment towards a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region based on shared values and principles and respect for international law.
There is a focus on practical cooperation in the areas of connectivity and infrastructure development, and counter-terrorism, cyber security, maritime security, humanitarian and disaster relief, with the objective of promoting peace, security, stability and prosperity in an increasingly inter-connected Indo-Pacific region.
With growing concerns in all four quad countries about Chinese foreign policy and regional influence, the group has found renewed relevance.

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