On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden will participate in a virtual summit of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This is the first time United States will engage at the highest level with a bloc it sees as critical to its anti-China strategy.
According to the US embassy in Brunei, Biden will lead the US team to the ASEAN-United States summit, which is part of a series of ASEAN leaders’ meetings this week.
According to the White House, Biden will discuss the enduring commitment of United States to ASEAN’s central role in regional affairs, as well as new initiatives to strengthen the United States’ strategic partnership with the bloc.
Since Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, attended an ASEAN-US meeting in Manila in 2017, the US has not participated in the meetings at the presidential level.
Biden had made no indication of a return to a regional trade framework from which Trump withdrew in 2017. An Asian diplomat remarked that the absence of an economic component in United States’ regional participation was a significant gap to engage on trade, investment and infrastructure in the regional level.
According to analysts, Biden’s meeting with the 10-nation bloc indicates his administration’s efforts to engage allies and partners in a collaborative effort to counter China.
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