US President Joe Biden on Thursday opened a gathering of Southeast Asian leaders with a promise to spend US$150 million on their infrastructure, security, COVID-19 pandemic preparedness and other efforts aimed at countering the influence of rival China.
Biden started a two-day summit with the 10-member ASEAN in Washington with a dinner for the leaders at the White House ahead of talks at the US Department of State yesterday.
Biden smiled broadly as he took a group photo on the South Lawn of the White House before the dinner with representatives from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Myanmar’s leader was excluded over a coup last year, while the Philippines, the government of which is in transition after elections on Monday, sent Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin Jr.
Photo: Reuters
Biden’s administration hopes the efforts would show the countries that Washington remains focused on the Indo-Pacific region and the long-term challenge of China, which it views as the country’s main competitor.
In November last year, China pledged US$1.5 billion in development assistance to ASEAN countries over three years to fight COVID-19 and fuel economic recovery.
“We need to step up our game in Southeast Asia,” a senior US administration official told reporters. “We are not asking countries to make a choice between the United States and China. We want to make clear, though, that the United States seeks stronger relationships.”
The new financial commitment includes a US$40 million investment in infrastructure intended to help decarbonize the region’s power supply and US$60 million in maritime security, as well as US$15 million in health funding to aid in early detection of COVID-19 and other respiratory pandemics, an official said.
Additional funding would help the countries develop digital economy and artificial intelligence laws.
The US Coast Guard is also to deploy a ship to the region to help local fleets counter what Washington and countries in the region have described as China’s illegal fishing.
Still, the commitments pale in comparison to China’s deep ties and influence.
The summit marks the first time that ASEAN’s leaders gather as a group at the White House and their first meeting hosted by a US president since 2016.
The countries share many of Washington’s concerns about China, as Beijing asserts sovereignty over vast swathes of the South China Sea, but they have also been frustrated by Washington’s delay in detailing plans for economic engagement since former US president Donald Trump quit a regional trade pact in 2017.
“The US should adopt a more active trade and investment agenda with ASEAN, which will benefit the US economically and strategically,” Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Thursday.
They also remain cautious about siding more firmly with Washington, given their predominant economic ties with Beijing and limited US economic incentives.
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