Biden to host Southeast Asian leaders for May 12-13 summit

President Joe Biden will host leaders of the Affiliation of Southeast Asian nations in Washington subsequent month for a summit, the White Home stated Saturday.

The Could 12-13 gathering is supposed to display the US’ dedication to being a associate with international locations within the area.

The White Home beforehand had introduced that the summit can be held March 28-29, however the regional grouping of nations generally known as ASEAN sought a postponement resulting from scheduling considerations amongst a few of its members.

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The summit will commemorate 45 years of relations between the U.S. and the ASEAN nations. The gathering follows Biden’s participation in an October 2021 summit the place he introduced $102 million in new initiatives to assist these international locations with COVID-19 and well being safety, local weather change, financial progress and gender equality.

“It’s a prime precedence for the Biden-Harris Administration to function a powerful, dependable associate in Southeast Asia,” White Home press secretary Jen Psaki stated Saturday in an announcement. “Our shared aspirations for the area will proceed to underpin our frequent dedication to advance an Indo-Pacific that’s free and open, safe, linked, and resilient.”

ASEAN’s 10 members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Its members have been at odds with one another over Myanmar, which has been wracked by violent unrest because the military ousted the elected authorities of Aung San Suu Kyi in February final 12 months.

ASEAN is in search of to implement a five-point plan for Myanmar it reached final 12 months stressing dialogue, humanitarian help and an finish to violence. However Myanmar’s ruling navy council has delayed the plan’s implementation even because the nation has slipped right into a state of affairs that some U.N. specialists have described as civil battle.

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Myanmar’s lack of cooperation led ASEAN final 12 months to bar its chief, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, from attending its annual summit assembly, an unprecedented step for the physique whose members historically have averted public criticism of one another and have operated by consensus.

It has utilized the same coverage for subsequent conferences, saying that it might enable Myanmar to ship solely non-political representatives.

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Biden hosted Singapore’s prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, for talks final month during which the president tried to guarantee Singapore and different Pacific allies that the administration stays centered on the area even whereas working with Europe and different allies to finish Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.