President Biden will host a special summit with leaders of southeast Asian nations next month, the White House said on Saturday.
Biden will host the 10 countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in D.C. on May 12 and 13 to "demonstrate the United States’ enduring commitment" to the association, per the White House.
"It is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration to serve as a strong, reliable partner in Southeast Asia," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.
"Our shared aspirations for the region will continue to underpin our common commitment to advance an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, secure, connected, and resilient," she said.
ASEAN’s 10 members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Its members have been at odds with each other over Myanmar, which has been wracked by violent unrest since the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February last year.
ASEAN is seeking to implement a five-point plan for Myanmar it reached last year stressing dialogue, humanitarian assistance and an end to violence. But Myanmar’s ruling military council has delayed the plan’s implementation even as the country has slipped into a situation that some U.N. experts have described as civil war.
Biden in October participated in a summit with leaders of ASEAN, where he announced $102 million in initiatives to expand engagement on "COVID-19 recovery and health security, fighting the climate crisis, stimulating broad-based economic growth" and other areas, Psaki said.
The summit will also commemorate 45-years of U.S.-ASEAN relations, per Psaki.
The statement did not mention China, but strengthening relationships with Southeast Asian countries is a key part of the Biden administration’s effort to counter Beijing’s dominance in the region.
The meeting, originally scheduled for the end of March, had been delayed due to conflicting schedules among leaders, which had made it difficult to find a time for all members to participate.
