Australia and its ASEAN neighbors vowed to boost defense ties while stressing the importance of non-militarization in the disputed South China Sea Sunday, March 18 at a summit where the "complex" Rohingya crisis took center stage. Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), at the three-day meeting in Sydney, also agreed to work more closely to tackle the growing menace of violent extremism and radicalization.

ASEAN leaders call for South China Sea calm. (2018, March 19). Manila Bulletin, pp. 1, 16.