South-East Asian leaders: Region no proxy for any powers

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo addresses the closing ceremony of the 40th and 41st Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) Summits as the Asean chairmanship is passed to Indonesia, in Phnom Penh on Sunday, November 13, 2022. - AFP

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP): Indonesia's president vowed Sunday not to let South-East Asia become the front lines of a new Cold War amid increasing tensions between the United States and China, saying as his country took over the chairmanship of the influential Association of South-East Asian Nations that it would not become "a proxy to any powers.”

Joko Widodo said the 10-nation bloc with a combined population of some 700 million people "must be a dignified region” and "uphold the values of humanity and democracy” - principles that have been challenged by last year’s military takeover in Myanmar and concerns about human rights in Cambodia.