Asean leaders meet under China cloud

YANGON: Southeast Asian leaders head into a historic summit in Myanmar this weekend dogged by a flare-up of high-seas tensions with China that will test the region's ability to stand together against a mighty economic partner.

Vietnam and the Philippines, both members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), squared up to Beijing this week in the South China Sea, whose waters are scored by overlapping territorial claims.