Bangkok (AsiaNews) - Security in the Asian region, the North Korean atomic issue, trade in weapons and nuclear technology from North Korea and Myanmar, the global financial crisis and possible solutions for reviving the economy. These are the themes at the heart of the expanded summit of ASEAN foreign ministers, scheduled for July 17-23 in Phuket.

The seaside resort in southern Thailand is hosting the 42nd summit of the countries of Southeast Asia - Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei, Laos, Philippines and Myanmar – enlarged to include the heads of diplomacy from other nations including the U.S.A, China, European Union, Russia, Japan and Korea.

Beijing is calling on the countries of Southeast Asia to exploit the economic crisis to revive trade at regional level and anticipates the emission onto markets of 120 billion U.S. dollars by the end of the year. Yang Jiechi, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs says it is important to promote cooperation and adds: "We must transform the crisis into an opportunity to strengthen cooperation at a  financial level... at the level of ministries, central banks and controlling authorities”.

The U.S. is focusing instead on strengthening their presence in Asia - the continent "forgotten" by the previous Bush administration - and confirms their attention to the proliferation of nuclear technology, in Iran and North Korea. Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State says that "the U.S. is back" and reaffirms "the importance" of Asia for the Obama presidency. The United States is set to sign a treaty with the ASEAN countries, wanted the same Barack Obama due to come into force without the approval of Congress. An agreement that George Bush had always rejected.

In the field of nuclear energy, Hillary Clinton confirms "concern" over the North Korean threat and the recent exchanges between Pyongyang and the Burmese military dictatorship. The Secretary of State does not exclude the possibility of a series of incentives for North Korea if the communist regime shows its willingness to dismantle its nuclear program. Regarding Iran, Clinton added that the U.S. is ready to help its Gulf Allies to build an "umbrella defence" system if Tehran does not abandon its nuclear ambitions. The "Open Door” policy towards the regime remains, says the head of U.S. diplomacy, but she does not rule out "severe action" if the country does not change course.

Yesterday, the Thai premier Abhisit Vejjajiva outlined the objectives of the summit: to create an Asian community, strengthen the sense of solidarity among member countries, address issues related to human rights (with an implicit reference to Myanmar), find effective remedies against  swine flu.