TODAY’s brief, Monday, Feb 15

US-ASEAN summit opens
United States President Barack Obama hosts the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Sunnylands, California for a historic two-day summit on Monday afternoon (Tuesday morning, Singapore time) — the first US-ASEAN talks to be held on American soil. The eleven leaders are likely to discuss key security and strategic issues, including territorial disputes in the South China Sea, combating the Islamic State terror group and North Korea’s nuclear programme and ballistic missile development, among other issues.

Airshow conference opens
Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan will deliver the opening address at the Singapore Airshow Aviation Leadership Summit today. The focus of this year’s conference, attended by regulators, the private sector, government and airline operators, is on how new ideas and emerging technologies could provide new opportunities to drive global aviation.

Pennant plays first S.League match
Star-studded Tampines Rovers, with ex-Arsenal and Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant in their ranks, begin their quest for a sixth S.League title with their season opener against Geylang International at the Jurong West Stadium tonight at 7.30pm. Will it be a dream start for the Stags and Pennant, or will Geylang pull off a shock win over their Eastern rivals?

Japanese and Australian foreign ministers meet
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop kicks off a two-day trip to East Asia today, where she will meet with her Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, and Japanese Defence Minister, Gen Nakatani, in Tokyo — where they are expected to discuss how to respond to North Korea’s recent rocket launch and atomic bomb tests. In addition, the two foreign ministers are also likely to reiterate their concerns over China’s assertive behaviour towards pursuing its territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Weather forecast
Thundery showers mainly over northern, western and central Singapore in the afternoon, with temperatures ranging from 25°C to 33°C.