The topics of regional tension in the South China Sea and the civil war in Myanmar are expected to take center stage at the leaders' meeting hosted by Laos in Vientiane.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. departed for Vientiane, Laos on Tuesday afternoon to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, where he is expected to highlight the country’s position on key regional and global issues,

For the first time since the junta seized power three years ago, Myanmar will send a Foreign Ministry official to the summit. But that move has drawn criticism from some human rights groups, NGOs and opponents of the junta inside the country,