The Asean leaders will discuss the progress in efforts to establish an Asean Community by 2015, and take stock of the implementation of the Asean Charter. They will also discuss Asean's role in the regional architecture, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
This summit takes place amidst tension in the South China Sea over overlapping territorial claims by China and four Asean member states. Asean has drafted a Code of Conduct and hopes China will agree to start formal talks on it.
On the economic front, Asean has set a deadline of 2015 for achieving the goal of a single market.
