Sino-US rivalry assumes centre stage at Apec summit

POLITICAL leaders from across Asia-Pacific and the Americas are meeting at the first Apec (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) leadership summit since the agreement of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) last month. China will be centre stage in the meeting given its attempts to push an alternative trade pact to the TPP, and the possibility that geopolitical disputes over its territorial claims in the South China Sea could emerge on the agenda.

Following the Paris terrorist attacks, security at the summit in the Philippines will be enormously tight. Presidents and prime ministers will be in attendance from the United States, China, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Brunei, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippin…