US pressures ASEAN to shun North Korea

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has called on Asian leaders to cut funding and apply UN sanctions to North Korea at a meeting of ASEAN Ministers in Washington on Thursday, reports Reuters.

Tillerson warned that the US would sanction foreign companies that conduct business with the Pyongyang regime if their governments did not to take action. Five ASEAN members have embassies in North Korea, and all maintain diplomatic relations.

Reacting to US demands, Singapore’s foreign minister, Vivian Balakrishnan, said sanctions would have to be fully implemented, but for now, “we will stick with the UN Security Council’s resolutions.”

US pressure is said to have included a flurry of calls by US President Trump to the leaders of the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore and diplomats say the demands have caused some irritation within ASEAN, including in Malaysia.

Trump’s abandonment of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) has caused concern in Asia, where US-ASEAN annual trade is estimated at $100 billion supporting half a million US jobs and $274 billion of US investment into the region.