Trudeau heads to Southeast Asia as Israel-Hamas war promises to overshadow trade talks

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau heads to Laos this week to advance trade and political ties in the region as violence in the Middle East dominates public opinion in Southeast Asia.

Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president of research and strategy for the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, said Canada and other western nations have taken a «reputational hit» in Muslim-majority countries — including Indonesia and Malaysia, where public opinion tends to support the Palestinian side and oppose Israel.

Trudeau has a chance at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit from Oct. 10-11 to counter claims western countries are indifferent to the «suffering in Gaza,» Nadjibulla said.

«What's important is to remind everyone that we care about human rights, we care about resolving conflicts everywhere in the world, not just in certain locations, in order to be able to counter this charge of hypocrisy,» Nadjibulla said.

Claims that the nations of the West — and the U.S. in particular — are taking a hypocritical approach to the Israel-Hamas war are «overblown,» she said, and are being driven by Russian and Chinese disinformation campaigns.

«The claim is that essentially we care more about the suffering in Ukraine because it's in Europe than we do when it's suffering in Africa or the Middle East or elsewhere,» Nadjibulla said. «It's just this charge that basically not all human rights are being treated as equal.»

Trudeau's efforts to navigate these tensions will be watched closely at the summit, she said.

After his first official visit to Laos, Trudeau is scheduled to fly to a U.S. air base in Germany for a meeting hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden to «reaffirm global solidarity» with Ukraine in its fight against Russia, a statement