Turnbull invites ASEAN countries to summit in Australia

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has invited South-East Asian leaders to a special summit in Australia to help resolve regional issues including the South China Sea dispute.

(L-R) Vietnam's PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Australia's PM Malcolm Turnbull and Laos PM Thongloun Sisoulith pose for a photo during ASEAN Source: AAP

Mr Turnbull has issued the invitation for 2018 during a special address at the ASEAN (AZ-ee-an) summit in Laos.

Among the summit's key developments was a brief encounter between United States president Barack Obama and the Philippine president who had called him a "son of a whore."