US President Joe Biden on Sunday vowed his country's commitment to the Indo-Pacific and emphasised the importance of freedom of navigation in the East and South China seas during an annual regional meeting involving members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The gathering of the 18-member East Asia Summit took place amid ongoing tensions between the United States and China over Beijing's excessive maritime claims in the South China Sea and its pressure on Taiwan, while North Korea continues with a barrage of ballistic missile tests.
Among the attendees were Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
Biden is on his first trip to Southeast Asia since taking office, with last year's Asean-related summit events held virtually amid the coronavirus pandemic.
He also became the first US president in about six years to take part in the East Asia Summit in person, in contrast to his predecessor Donald Trump, who only attended a US-Asean summit once, in Manila in 2017, and has never attended full East Asia Summit meetings during his tenure through January 2021.
Trump's absence had sparked concern about a lack of US engagement in the Indo-Pacific at a time when China's clout is growing in the region.
"President Biden reaffirmed the enduring US commitment to the Indo-Pacific, with Asean at its center," the White House said in a press release following the East Asia Summit.
During the event, Biden commented on US-China relations, underscoring that the United States will "compete vigorously" with China and speak out against Beijing's alleged human rights abuses, according to the press release.
It also said Biden hopes to keep the lines of communication open between the world's two largest economies so that competition does not veer into conflict, reaffirming the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
The United States and China are jockeying for influence in fast-growing Southeast Asia, a strategically important region that straddles key sea lanes, including the South China Sea.
Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The East Asia Summit comprises Asean plus Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States.
