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US President Barack Obama is attending a regional summit in Cambodia, with trade pacts and rumbling tensions over the South China Sea set to dominate.

The East Asian summit forms part of the regional Asean meeting. Chinese, Japanese and Australian leaders are also attending.

On Monday the US president discussed human rights with Cambodia's PM before attending a gala dinner.

His arrival came amid fractious debate on the maritime territorial rows.

China claims a U-shaped swathe of the South China Sea, including areas also claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.

Tensions have been high with Manila and Hanoi in recent months amid stand-offs and minor clashes around shoals and islands disputed with China.

The last Asean (Association of South East Asian Nations) summit in July broke up acrimoniously, without a joint communique, with China facing accusations of using its clout to force host Cambodia to keep the territorial issue off the agenda.

The discord has continued at the latest summit. Cambodia said on Sunday that Asean nations had agreed not to "internationalise" the issue but negotiate on it as a bloc, something Beijing has been pushing for.

But on Monday, the Philippines - which has been boosting ties with the US - said no such accord had been reached and that it had "the inherent right to defend its national interests when deemed necessary".

On Tuesday, President Obama is expected to hold talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who has already warned that the summit should not focus on territorial disputes.

Trade deals

Discussions at the summit are also expected to focus on at least three free trade pacts in the region.

China, Japan and South Korea are scheduled to launch trade talks on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the possibility of a free-trade zone, Japanese and South Korean officials say.

Asean countries and China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand are involved in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) dialogue that seeks to strengthen regional trade.

The US is leading the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations which currently involve four countries from Asean - Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Mr Obama arrived in Cambodia from Burma, where he spent six hours meeting top leaders.

The first visit to the country by a serving US president, it was seen as a response to reforms initiated by the government of President Thein Sein

source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-...