The Rohingya humanitarian debacle, the South China Sea conflicts and the North Korean nuclear crisis remain three outstanding issues on the Asean agenda. The second challenge is the future of the South China Sea, Singapore has dual roles -- as Asean chair and coordinator of Asean-China relations. The substantial commercial and financial links Asean members used to have with North Korea have all but ceased. Given the concurrent tension over the South China Sea, Asean does not want to complicate its ties with China further. At this juncture, Cambodia and Laos have maintained closed ties with North Korea.

Source: Bangkok Post February 12, 2018 22:07 UTC