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The President of the United States, Joe Biden, celebrated on November 12 the launch of a new alliance between his country and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with which he will hold a comprehensive strategic partnership and promises to deliver more aid to the bloc, amid rising Chinese influence. The leader of the White House announced that the new pact is a fundamental step to face the biggest problems in recent history.
Southeast Asia, at the center of the Indo-Pacific strategy of the United States and China.
Within the framework of the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which takes place in Cambodia, the US president, Joe Biden, confirmed that the two parties will expand their ties, having “a comprehensive strategic partnership” .
It is a largely symbolic move, but one that puts Washington on the same level as Beijing, which was awarded that distinction in 2021.
Biden hailed the new pact as a decisive step in tackling the biggest problems in recent history and promised $850 million in aid, in a region where China is also seeking to expand its influence.
“Together we will tackle the most important problems of our time, from climate to health security, to defend ourselves from the significant threat to the rule-based order,” the White House leader assured the leaders of the intergovernmental organization.
Biden assured that the block of ten countries is “at the heart of the Indo-Pacific strategy” of his Government and promised to collaborate to build a region that is “free, open, stable, prosperous, resilient and secure”.
“We will build an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, stable and prosperous, resilient and secure,” he added.
“I look forward to continuing our work together with ASEAN and each of you to deepen peace and prosperity throughout the region to resolve challenges from the South China Sea to Myanmar and find innovative solutions to shared challenges,” he said. president of the first world power.
The United States is seeking to reassert itself in the region after a period of uncertainty over its government’s commitment, following the presidency of Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, and concerted efforts by its rival, China, to increase its influence and fill that void.
The United States lays the groundwork for the Biden-Xi meeting at the G20
Washington is increasing its ties with ASEAN in the run-up to the meeting between Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday, November 14, during the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.
This is the first face-to-face during the Biden Presidency with a leader that his government considers his strongest rival in economic and military matters.
In an attempt to lay the groundwork for the next meeting, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stressed that the US president will raise issues such as freedom of navigation and illegal and unregulated fishing by China, after bring these concerns to ASEAN. Biden thus seeks to demonstrate the assertiveness of Washington against Beijing.
Freedom of navigation refers to a dispute involving the South China Sea, where the United States maintains it can navigate and fly where international law allows, while China believes such missions are destabilizing.
Sullivan noted that his nation has a key role to play as a stabilizing force in the region and in preventing any country from engaging in “sustained intimidation and coercion, which would be fundamentally adverse to ASEAN nations and other countries,” he said. .
“There is a signal of real demand for that … I think the PRC may not like that fact, but they certainly recognize it and understand it,” Sullivan said.
For his part, the president of South Korea, Yoon Suuk-Yeol, proposed a dialogue mechanism with China and Japan to address future crises, including the impacts of the Russian war in Ukraine in areas such as food and energy security; as well as climate change.
The US continues the drive to demonstrate its investments in the South Pacific, highlighted earlier this year when the White House hosted an ASEAN summit in Washington, the first of its kind.
He also named one of his top advisers, Yohannes Abraham, as official envoy to ASEAN, another way Washington is trying to show its commitment.
Biden will participate in sessions of the East Asia summit on Sunday, November 13, including a trilogue meeting with the leaders of South Korea and Japan, before leaving for the G-20 summit in Bali.
With Reuters, AP and EFE
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