Anti‑US protest takes place outside ASEAN summit, Al Jazeera reports

Al Jazeera reported that dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the venue of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Jakarta on July 22, 2026 to stage an anti‑U.S. protest. The rally coincided with the opening session of the summit, which brought together leaders from the ten member states and a delegation from the United States to discuss regional security, trade and climate cooperation. Organisers, identified as a coalition of student groups and human‑rights organisations, carried banners condemning what they described as U.S. interference in Southeast Asian affairs and called for the withdrawal of American military presence from the region. Police deployed a limited number of officers to monitor the perimeter, and according to Al Jazeera, no major clashes were reported, though a handful of participants were briefly detained for failing to comply with crowd‑control directives.

Officials from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged the protest but reiterated that the summit would proceed as scheduled, emphasizing the importance of dialogue among member states. A spokesperson for the U.S. delegation declined to comment on the demonstrators’ grievances, while ASEAN secretariat representatives highlighted the summit’s agenda on economic integration and pandemic recovery. The demonstration underscores ongoing public scrutiny of U.S. policy in the Indo‑Pacific, adding a layer of domestic pressure as regional leaders convene to shape future cooperation.