Obama will discuss efforts to curb North Korea and to fight the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (Isis) militants during the two-day summit with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) at Sunnylands, a California resort.
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The two-day special US-Association Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit opened in southern California with a call from US President Barack Obama for closer cooperation in promoting trade, counter-terrorism, and peaceful resolution of disputes.
The U.S. maintains these disputes should be resolved peacefully according to worldwide law, a stance Obama emphasized Monday in welcoming leaders of ASEAN’s 10-nation bloc: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.
With a combined Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of US$2.4 trillion (about RM10 trillion) and a population of more than 600 million with a growing middle class, Asean serves as an important partner to the United States, said Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.
“If the ASEAN leaders feel that the United States is investing in ASEAN… that would encourage even the weakest, the most susceptible ASEAN states to sign on with their brothers to make these statements”, said Ernest Bower, an Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The White House Press Secretary’s Office said in a news release on Friday, “The U.S.-ASEAN partnership has been important in addressing shared challenges on a diverse range of issues”.
A collective US-Asean endorsement of the United Nations court’s verdict-whatever the outcome-would heap pressure on China, which refuses to recognize the court. The pact is Obama’s signature trade achievement, one he has sought to sell to skeptical lawmakers as a chance for the U.S.to shape the region’s trade rules, not China.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung did attend, after initially canceling amid a power shakeup within Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party.
The focus of the leaders’ gathering is on strengthening Asean’s economic growth through innovation and entrepreneurship.
Obama will speak frankly about USA opposition to China’s “militarization” of disputed areas and any escalation of tensions across the region, White House officials said. The ranch is home to elaborate gardens and an elegant meeting space, a desert haven Obama has repeatedly gotten away to this time of year.
The summit is designed more as a demonstration of Mr. Obama’s commitment to USA investment in Asia than a time for forging major agreements.
The assembly represents the first gathering in the US of the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations, and for the gathering Obama selected the sun-drenched Annenberg family estate where he has hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping and King Abdullah II of Jordan – something of a Camp David West for this president.
Stressing opportunities for peace and prosperity, President Obama is expected to discuss economic and security issues.
Tuesday’s meet is expected to be “explosive” and “heated” as maritime issues, particularly the raging South China Sea dispute, will be exhaustively tackled.
Prior to the meeting Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said the meeting was meant to send a signal that the United States values ASEAN and that the USA is going to be engaged in the region “to set clear rules of the road on the various issues of common interest that we share with them”.
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.
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Obama also plans to raise the issue of good governance and adherence to the rule of law.
