Asia Pacific Report<\/a> on Radio Islam International, Walden Bello discussed the way this Trump-Xi summit contrasts with their previous meeting in its geographic setting, diplomatic format, economic stakes, and geopolitical urgency.<\/p>\n\u201cThe context is very different from the meeting in 2025 between the two,\u00a0because the US comes as a diminished power because of its strategic debacle in Iran.\u00a0And China has come across as the pillar of stability,\u201d Bello said.<\/p>\n
The United States lost significant global support due to its military conflict with Iran. For one, Russia and China have transitioned to local currencies for oil and gas trade, representing a structural shift away from the decades-old \u201cpetrodollar\u201d system. Additionally, traditional Gulf allies such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE implemented aggressive countermeasures, including reducing their financial exposure to US banks and closing their airspace to US aircraft.<\/p>\n
At the same time, European countries have distanced themselves from US-led military action involving Iran, reflecting wider divisions among Western partners.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, China has expanded its influence in Southeast Asia by offering access to its oil reserves and positioning itself as a potential mediator between the US and Iran.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Trump desperately wants China’s intervention to save face,\u201d Bello opined.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, US\u2013China relations may focus on maintaining a trade truce, with possible negotiations involving US restrictions on high-technology exports and China\u2019s controls on rare earth materials. Observers also point to Taiwan as a key unresolved issue that could shape future US policy decisions.<\/p>\n
Chaos in the Philippines<\/strong><\/p>\nThe impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte on May 11, 2026, represents the definitive climax of the total political war between the ruling Marcos dynasty and the unravelling Duterte dynasty.<\/p>\n
Simultaneously, the Philippine Senate descended into chaos this week, marked by a sudden leadership coup and an unprecedented shootout inside the legislative building.<\/p>\n
The crisis erupted as the upper chamber prepared to receive the formal articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was chaos\u00a0in the Philippine Senate. The Senate is the one that will decide whether or not to convict her\u00a0in this impeachment complaint, because there was a coup that displaced the pro-Marcos majority\u00a0with now a pro-Duterte majority that is unlikely to convict her,\u201d Bello said.<\/p>\n
On May 11, Pro-Duterte senators executed a swift, unannounced floor coup to oust Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III. Led by Imee Marcos and minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano, the bloc voted 13\u20139 to declare all leadership seats vacant. Cayetano was immediately sworn in as the new Senate President to control the chamber before the trial.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Then, the building became an active law enforcement zone on Wednesday night when more than a dozen gunshots rang out inside the complex. Heavily armed police and marines breached the building to arrest Senator Ronald \u201cBato\u201d dela Rosa, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Journalists and staffers scrambled for cover as Dela Rosa\u2014who had been using the Senate as a sanctuary\u2014fled the police.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
ASEAN Summit meeting in Cebu <\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nThe 48th<\/sup> ASEAN Summit officially convened in the central Philippine province of Cebu from May 6 to May 8. Under the Philippines’ 2026 chairship theme, “Navigating Our Future, Together,”<\/em> the high-level meeting was hosted by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
The summit took place at a time of growing divisions within the regional bloc, with analysts warning that internal disputes are weakening ASEAN\u2019s ability to function as a unified organisation.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cThe ASEAN Summit meeting came at a very precarious time for ASEAN,\u00a0because it has really come at a time of great disunity,\u201d Bello observed.<\/p>\n
Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia remain unresolved, with no peace agreement reached. Efforts to resolve the crisis in Myanmar have also stalled, as ASEAN\u2019s five-point peace plan has failed to produce a breakthrough. Thailand has further complicated regional diplomacy by appearing to support Myanmar\u2019s military junta.<\/p>\n
Divisions have also emerged over the South China Sea dispute, with most ASEAN members \u2014 except possibly Vietnam \u2014 refraining from openly backing the Philippines in its territorial standoff with China.<\/p>\n
Analysts say these disputes have exposed deep fractures within ASEAN, limiting the bloc\u2019s effectiveness on major regional security and political issues.<\/p>\n
Despite the Philippines hosting the summit, critics argue the meeting produced little substantive progress beyond symbolic displays of unity among regional leaders. Key issues, including the South China Sea dispute, the Myanmar crisis and tensions between Thailand and Cambodia, remain unresolved.<\/p>\n
Asia Pacific Report<\/strong>:https:\/\/on.soundcloud.com\/OSF6Fue0vZiguCXN8Q<\/p>\nGuest<\/strong>: Walden Bello | International adjunct professor of sociology at the State University of New York at Binghamton; senior visiting research fellow at Kyoto University Centre for Southeast Asian Studies<\/p>\nPresenter<\/strong>: Moulana Ahmed Waja<\/p>\nShow<\/strong>: Sabaahul Muslim<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"14 May 2026 | 12:50 CAT 4-minute read Trump\u2019s China visit Donald Trump\u2019s May 2026 state visit to Beijing marks his first visit to the country during his second presidential term, and is markedly different from his October 2025 meeting with Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea. During this week\u2019s Asia Pacific Report on Radio […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":90718,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4997],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Asia-Pacific-Report.jpg?fit=2268%2C2268&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-ry5","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-26 12:40:48","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105901\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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