President Joe Biden will host a particular summit of Southeast Asian leaders in Washington subsequent month.
The conferences with leaders from Southeast Asia on May 12 and 13 come in opposition to the backdrop of the pandemic, heightened issues about China’s ambitions as Russia wages battle in Ukraine and pressure between the U.S. and Myanmar — a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN — over a marketing campaign in opposition to the Rohingya minority, which the Biden administration just lately termed a “genocide.”
“It is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration to serve as a strong, reliable partner in Southeast Asia,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated in an announcement Saturday. “Our shared aspirations for the region will continue to underpin our common commitment to advance an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, secure, connected, and resilient.”
Psaki stated Biden would construct on commitments the U.S. made at an October assembly of ASEAN, which included $102 million devoted to well being, environmental, financial and gender equality initiatives. The U.S., which isn’t a member of the ASEAN, has labored carefully with the group to counter China’s affect in the Eastern Hemisphere.