Obama welcomed 10 Southeast Asian leaders on Presidents Day to Sunnylands, the sprawling Rancho Mirage estate where he often entertains foreign dignitaries. That is something Obama will hope to capitalize on at Sunnylands. Many of them head corrupt regimes with dismal human rights records.
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But against that turbulent backdrop, the Obama administration has sought to help shape the economic and strategic direction of the region because, knitted together, the countries boasts surprising clout.
If Obama will attend to Asian leaders during his final year in office, analysts say, the payoff to the American economy and national security will be significant.
The California meeting “will provide leaders a forum to strengthen cooperation” under the new US-ASEAN strategic partnership on political, security, and economic issues, which was launched in November in Kuala Lumpur, the White House said when it announced the summit.
White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice told reporters US companies had more than doubled investment in the region since 2008.
As everyone knows, I first came to know the people and the beauty and the strength of Southeast Asia as a boy when I lived in Indonesia for several years with my mother.
As part of our deeper engagement, I’m proud to be the first U.S. President to meet with leaders of all 10 ASEAN countries. In recent months he has intensified pressure on the political opposition.
Fox News, citing civilian satellite imagery, reported on Tuesday that the Chinese military had deployed an advanced surface-to-air missile system to one of its contested islands in the South China Sea.
But the White House will hope to at least send a message to the region that Washington will remain engaged.
Myanmar’s outgoing leader Thein Sein did not be at the summit. A prime minister trying to shake off a $700 million financial scandal.
Washington, reckoning that Beijing does not want to be seen as a regional bully, has mustered an informal coalition of Asia-Pacific allies to demand that the latter respect the rule of law. “These discussions are progressing, but I think it unlikely that China wants to be seen by the worldwide community as the protector of North Korea given its recent outrageous behavior”. “These issues are not exactly the same in different countries, but the point is there are elements that can be drawn from different countries as they wrestle with similar challenges”.
An editorial in the influential Chinese tabloid the Global Times on Tuesday said the summit was the wrong place to discuss South China Sea issues and that it would not yield “striking geopolitical decisions”.
The president’s Vietnam visit this spring will be a side trip while in the region for the Group of Seven summit in Japan.
White House officials are not predicting grand agreements or other developments that typically signify a consequential summit.
However, the highlight is expected to be on the overlapping maritime claims in the South China Sea involving four Asean countries, China and Taiwan.
President Barack Obama greets ASEAN’s secretary general.
“Here at the summit, we can reaffirm that strong, prosperous and inclusive societies require good governance, rule of law, accountable institutions, vibrant civil societies and upholding human rights”, he said.
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Some quarters say that the summit signifies the US’ longtime courtship of the ASEAN as a regional bloc amidst the rising tension in the South China Sea and the upcoming change of leadership in the US. As leaders, we have to answer their aspirations.
