In Southeast Asia, Islamic terrorists in the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia promise to keep the leaders awake at night. If the past is any indication, those who hold office in the ASEAN won't be of much help in defeating the terrorists.
Preoccupied with their own politics, Americans may have little to say about how the pressing issues of Asia are met this year. Indeed, the new US president will most likely find himself or herself having to plunge into a thicket of changes in Asia over which the US has had little or no influence.
Richard Halloran is a writer based in Hawaii.
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