32nd ASEAN Summit: ASEAN joining hands in tough times

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02:15

Leaders of ten Southeast Asian countries gathered in Singapore on Saturday for the 32nd ASEAN summit. Their discussions included the issue of protectionism versus free trade. Our correspondent Miro Lu reports.

Leaders from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations gather for the first time this year in Singapore, going through ASEAN's programs and initiatives set out for 2018. The themes under Singapore's chairmanship this year are "resilience and innovation". Singapore Prime Minister says they encapsulate the changing strategic and economic landscape ASEAN is facing.

LEE HSIEN LOONG PRIME MINISTER OF SINGAPORE "We need to be resilient to both conventional threats, and non-conventional threats such as terrorism and cyber-attacks. At the same time, countries need to be innovative and make creative use of technology to grow our economies."

One of the key deliverables from the summit is the establishment of the ASEAN Smart Cities Network. The 26 pioneer cities will come together to articulate a common framework for smart city development in ASEAN, and craft city-specific action plans and innovative projects that will improve the lives of ASEAN people.

MIRO LU SINGAPORE "PM Lee says the strategic balance is shifting, both globally and in the region. He notes that the political mood in many countries has shifted against free trade and the trade tensions between the US and China are ASEAN's most immediate and worrying concerns. How can ASEAN stay relevant and how can we tackle the issues affecting the region? He says the short answer is ASEAN Centrality."

LEE HSIEN LOONG PRIME MINISTER OF SINGAPORE "Individually, the ASEAN member states will find it hard to make much impact on their own. But when we speak in one collective ASEAN voice, we can be effective."

ASEAN's combined GDP stands at 2-and-a-half trillion US dollars in 2016, with a compound annual growth rate of around 5 percent over the last decade. Leaders here seem to agree that for ASEAN to continue to grow, the 10 nations must stay together. Miro Lu, CGTN, Singapore.