By skipping out early on ASEAN’S 12th East Asian Summit (EAS) on Tuesday, United States President Donald Trump missed out on a discussion about three of his favorite topics: Terrorism, North Korean nukes and international trade.

Economic grievances and complex security challenges colored the talks between Southeast Asian nations and their regional partners during the second day of high-level meetings under the banner of the 31st ASEAN Summit in Manila, giving heft to an appeal by President Joko “Jokowi” to preserve the culture of dialogue.

Underpinned by the principle of ASEAN centrality, the EAS is one of the premier multilateral forums that regularly brings together all the great powers around ASEAN.

The summit, alongside various other ASEAN-led mechanisms, is widely considered to be what veteran ASEAN diplomat Kishore Mahbubani calls “an indispensable diplomatic platform” that gathers together the US, Russia, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. As a testament to the importance of the forum, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau conveyed during a press conference on Tuesday his wish for Canada to become a full member of the EAS.

However, Trump, according to Reuters, departed the Philippines to return home early because the start of the meetings had been delayed by about 90 minutes, leaving US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to take his place.

Most leaders who actually attended the EAS, Indonesian Foreign Ministry officials revealed, used their time to raise various issues of common concern, ranging from the threat of terrorism and the nuclear tensions on the Korean Peninsula, to the wave of protectionism plaguing the world.

A common thread that emerged in the more than two-hour meeting was a need for dialogue to seek lasting solutions.

“We have to continue preserving the culture of dialogue among members of the East Asia Summit, especially through our collective leadership in the peaceful resolution of conflict that the world currently needs,” Jokowi said at the summit.

The President also called on all parties convening at the EAS to work together to keep their economies open and inclusive, so they may benefit all countries and close any development gap.

This would be reflected, for instance, in a standalone declaration on countering the financing of terrorism. In a draft of the declaration obtained by The Jakarta Post, EAS leaders decided “to enhance cooperation to support initiatives aimed at addressing the root causes of terrorism.”

Jokowi himself addressed the issue of terrorism, warning countries not to become complacent in the aftermath of the liberation of Marawi city in the Philippines, which was held for five months by local terrorists inspired by the Islamic State (IS) movement.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that tensions on the Korean Peninsula also featured heavily on the EAS agenda, with most leaders raising it in their statements. She said the messages about North Korea mostly involved concern over the launching of missiles, and they also to varying degrees insisted on the need for dialogue.

On the South China Sea issue, most leaders welcomed the start of earnest negotiations on a code of conduct for the disputed waters, which ASEAN and China announced on Monday.

Also on Tuesday, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit concluded with the leaders instructing their ministers and negotiators to intensify efforts in 2018 to bring the trade pact negotiations to a conclusion.

The ongoing trade talks, which would potentially create the world’s biggest trade bloc, is participated in by the 10 ASEAN member states and their six free trade agreement (FTA) partners: Australia, New Zealand, India, Korea, Japan and China.

During the closing ceremony of the 31st ASEAN Summit and related summits, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte symbolically handed over the chairmanship of ASEAN to Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Long, who will take on the mantle next year.

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