Obama to host Asean leaders in New York

US President Barack Obama will host leaders of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) at a meeting in New York on September 24, the White House said today.

It will be the second such US—Asean leaders meeting and follows a gathering in Singapore in November 2009, where they committed to deeper cooperation in areas including trade and investment as well as food, energy and regional security.

“The president looks forward to working with the leaders to assess the progress on these issues, identify future efforts to strengthen US—Asean relations, and discuss multilateral approaches for greater regional cooperation,” the White House said in a statement.

US President Barack Obama walks out of the residence to board Marine One on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington





The 10-nation Asean grouping represents an important economic and strategic partner for the United States, which wants to boost exports to the Asia-Pacific region as it seeks to lift growth in its battered domestic economy.

Some analysts had hoped Obama would invite the leaders to Washington, rather than holding the meeting in New York, on the margins of the UN General Assembly.

“Asean will be the fulcrum of new trade and security architecture in the Asia-Pacific region for this century,” Ernest Bower, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, recently wrote.

Russia, Singapore home to wealthiest expats

Russia, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are home to the wealthiest expats, with Eurozone countries falling behind when it comes to paying for foreign expertise, according to a survey of expats on Wednesday.

The third annual report commissioned by HSBC Bank International found finances among expats were generally positive with two-thirds, or 66 per cent, saying they have more disposable income to save and invest since moving abroad.

But the survey found expats in Russia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore enjoyed the greatest wealth overall, having higher salaries, more disposable income and more luxury items like swimming pools, properties and yachts.

Expats in Russia topped the list for the second consecutive years with a third, or 36 per cent, reporting earnings of over US$250,000 (RM782,000) a year — compared to two-thirds, or 62 per cent, of expats in Spain earning below US$60,000.

HSBC spokeswoman Lisa Wood said the survey, conducted by research company GfK, showed the wealth gap was widening between the east and west, with expats in emerging economies leaving their counterparts in the Eurozone behind.

“The BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) economies have fared well over the last year and as a result we’ve seen that these expat locations are particularly strong when it comes to expat finances,” Wood said in a statement.

“Eurozone countries were the worst-performing when looking at purely financial criteria and subsequently all featured in the bottom quartile of our league table.”

Wood added it was not surprising that ongoing volatility in the Eurozone region was a major contributor to this and was driving expats to seek jobs in countries with higher salaries.

The Expat Economic survey, part of HSBC’s Expat Explorer Survey of 4,100 expats from 100 countries, ranked 25 countries on scores linked to annual income, monthly disposable income, and a measure of defined luxuries.

When it came to salaries, the survey found that about 13 per cent of expats globally earned US$250,000 a year or more.

Russia topped this table followed by Singapore and Bermuda with 32 per cent and 27 per cent of expats respectively earning this amount.

Mainland Europe took the lowest positions on the table.

While only one quarter, or 26 per cent, of global expats on average earn less than US$60,000, the survey found 62 percent of expats living in Spain earn below that amount, 47 percent of expats in France and the Netherlands, and 45 percent in Germany.

But Wood said this could largely be explained by the high number of expats who choose to retire in mainland Europe.

One in five expats say they are able to pay off debt while working abroad but workers in Britain and Australia are most likely to be accumulating more debt, at 11 per cent and 9 per cent respectively.

Asean wants formal code in disputed South China Sea

The 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) wants to establish a formal code of conduct in the South China Sea to avoid tension around disputed territories, a senior Filipino diplomat said on Friday.

Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, China and Taiwan all stake claims over territory in the South China Sea. All except Brunei have a military presence in the area, and the boundary claims have sparked deadly naval clashes.

“We should start talking about the provisions of a regional code of conduct and this is to ensure that the South China Sea remains a peaceful and stable place where vessels can pass safely,” Erlinda Basilio, foreign affairs undersecretary for policy, told a media forum.

Southeast Asian states have become worried by China’s increasingly aggressive stance on the complex set of disputes. Last week, Chinese naval forces carried out drills in the disputed southern waters amid tension with Washington over security on the Korean peninsula and in the South China Sea.







In 2002, China and ASEAN signed a declaration to halt military activities and promote cooperation on scientific, environment and non-military projects to lessen tension after China and Vietnam fought a naval battle in the late 1980s.

Basilio said ASEAN would propose a more formal and legally binding code of conduct in the South China Sea at its next meeting with China. ASEAN members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

“We just want stability and a peaceful environment, not only there, but all over the region,” she said.

She said disputes have always been discussed in security meetings at the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), where extra-regional powers, such as the United States, Russia, India, Australia and Japan join Asean and China.

“Many of the participants in the ARF are trading nations and therefore it is important for them to have unimpeded access to the waters in South China Sea,” she said.

On Wednesday, Captain Rudy Lupton, commander of the flagship of the US Navy 7th Fleet, urged China to act responsibly in disputed areas in the South China Sea to avoid political and security issues.