The White House informed in a statement on Saturday that President Joe Biden will host the special US-ASEAN summit that was postponed from last month, stressing the Biden Administration’s top priority is to serve as a strong, reliable partner in the region.
Originally scheduled for the end of March, the meeting was delayed due to conflicting schedules among leaders.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki emphasized in the statement that their shared aspirations for the region will continue to underpin the common commitment to advance a free and open, secure, connected, and resilient Indo-Pacific.
Although China wasn’t mentioned in the statement, it’s been reiterated on more than one occasion that the strengthening relationships with Southeast Asian countries are a key part of Biden’s effort to counter Beijing’s dominance in the region.
The leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will gather in Washington for a special summit on May 12 and 13 that will build on the October 2021 summit with the 10 countries when Biden pledged $102 million in regional initiatives focused on Covid-19 recovery, the climate crisis, economic growth, and gender equality.
The new dates for the summit were confirmed by Cambodia, the 2022 holder of the ASEAN chairmanship, with Phnom Penh emphasizing in its statement that the United States and the leaders of ASEAN will chart the future direction in their relations and seek to further enhance strategic partnership for the mutual benefits.
The summit will take place amid tensions in the South China Sea, divisions among members of the ASEAN over its response to the crisis in post-coup Myanmar, and the lack of a collective condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that the West, and especially the US, have strongly condemned.
The 14-month-old crisis in ASEAN member Myanmar was caused by the Burmese junta’s forces that are trying to quell resistance to the coup of an elected government in February 2021 by bombing and burning swathes of the country.
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