The ASEAN-US Summit was instead attended by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. to represent the President, while six ASEAN member states also sent their foreign ministers.

Following the absence of United States President Donald Trump to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit with the US in Thailand, President Rodrigo Duterte has opted to skip the meet along with his regional counterparts.

The ASEAN-US Summit was instead attended by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. to represent the President, while six ASEAN member states also sent their foreign ministers.

Only Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, chair of the 35th ASEAN Summit, Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith and Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc took part in the meeting with Robert O’Brien, US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser.

Reports indicated that Trump was absent from the meeting as he was busy campaigning for his candidates in the gubernatorial races. Last year, Trump was represented by his vice president Mike Pence in Singapore and attended the 2017 edition in the Philippines.

“He is missed. I don’t think it affects the view of the ASEAN about the reliability of the US. For reliability we better look at their actions, rather than their presence,” Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said in a statement.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo, meantime, said that Duterte welcomed the continued support of China, Japan and South Korea for the Master Plan for ASEAN Connectivity 2025.

The plan aims to achieve a comprehensively connected and integrated ASEAN through sustainable infrastructure, digital innovation, seamless logistics, regulatory excellence and people mobility.

The President also welcomed China’s “strong commitment” to support the Brunei Darussalam – Indonesia – Malaysia – Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area, citing that this sub-regional cooperation framework jumpstarts development in the remotest and least developed areas in the region, such as Mindanao.