ASEAN leaders to tackle regional crises at tropical resort

Southeast Asian leaders are meeting at a picturesque tourist destination with sun-splashed tropical islands to tackle regional crises. The sunshiny setting is a stark contrast with the seriousness of their agenda. The resort has turquoise waters brimming with corals, seafood feasts, and a hillside savannah crawling with Komodo dragons. Indonesian President Joko Widodo picked the far-flung and rustic harbor town of Labuan Bajo as a laidback venue to discuss an agenda rife with gravely contentious issues. That includes the ongoing bloody civil strife in Myanmar and the escalating territorial conflicts in the South China Sea with fellow leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Their three-day semiannual summit starts Tuesday.