By Cod Satrusayang

NAYPYIDAW (DPA) – Leaders gathered in Myanmar's capital Wednesday for the Association of South-East Asian Nations summit, with the focus expected to be on economic ties and regional territorial disputes.

Myanmar President U Thein Sein opened the summit with a call for greater integration for the 10-nation bloc, while also praising members for realizing plans for the ASEAN Economic Community.

A meeting backed the Naypyidaw Declaration made earlier this year which pledged to "intensify our efforts in realising the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015."

The reaffirmed declaration also outlined plans for a more integrated community after 2015 as well as the promotion of peace and democracy within the region. 

ASEAN leaders also recognized the seriousness of the situation in the South China Sea and vowed to find a peaceful solution to the territorial disputes. 

The meeting closed proceedings by adopting measures to strengthen the ASEAN Secretariat and issued a joint statement promising to combat climate change. 

In his opening remarks, Thein Sein also welcomed two new leaders among the group: recently elected Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who took power in bloodless coup in May.

"I am fully confident that your leadership will not only bring greater peace, stability and prosperity to your peoples but also contribute to further enhance ASEAN integration," he said.

Thein Sein also said ASEAN must do more "promoting and protecting social justice and the rights of women, children and the elderly in our societies."

In a bilateral meeting between Myanmar and Indonesia, Thein Sein and Joko pledged to increase the trade volume between the two nations from 498 million dollars to 1 billion dollars per year by 2016. 

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

US President Barack Obama is attending the summit, following his appearance at a meeting for Pacific Rim countries in Beijing, as is Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The ASEAN meetings will also include leaders from South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Russia.

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By Joanna Chiu

BEIJING (DPA) — Twenty-one world leaders approved a proposal Tuesday to move forward on a China-backed free trade deal for Pacific Rim economies. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping called the move a historic first step in his closing remarks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit hosted by Beijing. 

"I believe our discussions today are of great significance. We can say with pride that we did the right thing," Xi told the other leaders, including President Barack Obama and Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Xi later told a press conference that APEC members had agreed to launch a two-year study of the proposal, a first step in a process toward possible adoption. 

China and the United States were each pushing what many saw as rival trade agreements.

Beijing promoted a free trade zone seeking to involve all APEC members, while Washington pushed its own Trans-Pacific Partnership with 12 Asia-Pacific countries excluding China.

US officials have denied the deals are in competition.

Obama announced Tuesday that progress had been made on a separate trade deal to eliminate tariffs on high-tech goods.

Leaders from Pacific Rim countries and territories were in a resort north of Beijing for the main day of talks at the APEC summit.

The meeting followed several brief encounters between leaders of countries with strained relations.

South Korean President Park Geun Hye and Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe met for the first time in eight months Monday evening, Yonhap News Agency reported. Abe and Park were seated next to each other at the welcome dinner.

Territorial disagreements and disputes over their wartime history – in particular the issue of Korean sex slaves during World War II – have complicated ties between the two nations.

Abe also met Xi Jinping for their first bilateral talks Monday, amid similar tensions over disputed territory.

Obama and Putin, whose countries are embroiled in a row over the crisis in Ukraine, had also met fleetingly on the sidelines of the summit.

The two leaders "talked briefly, yet touched on the issues of bilateral relations, Ukraine, Syria and Iran," according to Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Formed 25 years ago, APEC seeks to promote sustainable growth and economic integration, and reduce trade barriers across the Asia-Pacific region.

SEOUL (DPA) – The captain of a South Korean ferry was jailed for 36 years Tuesday over the sinking this year that killed more than 300 passengers, mostly school children, a news report said.

Lee Joon Seok, 69, was convicted of dereliction of duty for abandoning the passengers on board the ship, but found not guilty of murder at the trial of the sunken vessel's crew in Gwangju.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty.

The Sewol sank on April 16 on the way from Incheon to Jeju Island off the south-west of the peninsula. A total of 295 bodies were recovered, with the remaining nine missing presumed dead.

Investigators found signs the ferry may have been routinely overloaded with the collusion of its operator and owners.

Earlier Tuesday, the government called off the search for the remaining bodies, citing danger to the recovery crew from deteriorating conditions on the wreck.