Foreign Ministers from South East Asia are attending the 52nd ASEAN summit in Bangkok. The annual meeting opened with a call from the host Thailand for deeper integration to expand trade and bolster prosperity in the region amid rising global challenges.<br />''<br />''The meeting takes place in the shadow of rising security tension on the Korean Peninsula, China's aggressive territorial claims in the South China Sea and the US-China trade war.<br />''<br />''ASEAN, seeking to boost its own voice as a global player, also plays host to a series of foreign ministers from key strategic and dialogue partners, including US, China and Russia.<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">ASEAN leaders at their summit meeting in June adopted an Indo-Pacific engagement framework that sought to find a middle ground and keep on the good side of both Washington and Beijing.</span><br />