Malaysia must ensure that Apec remains sustainable and relevant

THE 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) bloc has not had the best of luck with its past two summits. The 2018 edition - hosted by Papua New Guinea in the capital Port Moresby in November that year - ended in a bit of a mess as the group's leaders failed to reach a consensus on trade, which meant that they could not issue a joint communique as planned for the first time.

This year's Apec chair, Chile, was forced to shelve the annual summit just two weeks before world leaders - including Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong - were due to fly to Santiago on the weekend of Nov 16-17. This came after the city was rocked by violent anti-government protests that have claimed about two dozen lives and injured thousands more.

The cancellation was significant as it also resulted in a much-anticipated meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping being scrapped. They were expected to announce a so-called "Phase One" agreement on the bitter trade war that has kept the world's two largest economies at loggerheads.