Key details of East Asia Summit

SCOTT MORRISON IS ATTENDING THE EAST ASIA SUMMIT

KEY FACTS:

* Prime Minister Scott Morrison will attend the East Asia Summit in Singapore on November 16.

* The summit brings together 18 regional leaders for talks on the key political, economic and security challenges facing the Indo-Pacific.

* It is centred around the 10 member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

* The summit includes eight of Australia's top 10 trading partners.

* The EAS membership represents more than half of the world's population and 58 per cent of global growth.

KEY PLAYERS:

* US Vice President Mike Pence

* Chinese Premier Li Keqiang

* Russian President Vladimir Putin

* Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

* Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

* Indonesian President Joko Widodo

* Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad

* New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

KEY ISSUES:

* Escalating trade tensions between the US and China.

* Progress on a 16-country free trade deal known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

* Chinese foreign investment and development throughout the Indo-Pacific.

* Terrorism, radicalisation and foreign fighters returning from the Middle East.

* Violence in Myanmar and the Rohingya refugee crisis

* Disputes in the South China Sea.

* Strategic and military competition between the US and China.

* Australia's defence spending and close military links with the US.