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Myanmar‘s civil strife, which has dragged on for more than two years after the army ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, and the South China Sea disputes were again expected to overshadow the Jakarta summit agenda, as in previous years. Indonesia tried to swing the focus to boosting regional economies with an upbeat theme this year - “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth” - but the geopolitical and security issues have continued to pester and spark diplomatic fallouts.

Indonesia tried to swing the focus to boosting regional economies with an upbeat theme this year — “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth” — but the geopolitical and security issues have continued to pester and spark diplomatic fallouts.

Teams of diplomats and journalists arrived to welcome streamers announcing the upbeat summit motto, “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth.”