US President in Cambodia: Biden wants to cooperate more closely with ASEAN countries

The USA wants to expand cooperation with the ASEAN countries. President Biden spoke of a “new era of cooperation”. The background is, among other things, the disputed Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Against the background of growing Chinese influence in Asia, US President Joe Biden wants to expand cooperation with the states of the Southeast Asian association of states ASEAN. Both sides elevated their relations to the level of a “comprehensive strategic partnership” at the ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The upgrade was announced six months ago at an ASEAN-USA summit in Washington. “ASEAN is at the heart of my administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy,” Biden said in a speech to leaders. He spoke of a “new era of cooperation”.

improve peace and prosperity

“Together we are tackling the major problems of our time,” said the US President. He mentioned climate change, healthcare and defense against threats to the rules-based order. The goal is an Indo-Pacific “free and open, stable and prosperous, resilient and secure.”

Cooperation should improve peace and prosperity and solve “challenges from the South China Sea to Myanmar”. Biden thus briefly addressed the crisis in Myanmar after the military coup and indirectly also the disputed Chinese territorial claims in the Southeast Asian sea area.

The Hague: Claims dismissed

China claims around 80 percent of the South China Sea. But ASEAN countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei also claim islands, atolls and reefs. A third of the world’s shipping traffic passes through the resource-rich sea area. In 2016, the International Arbitration Court in The Hague dismissed China’s claims as unlawful.

Biden also announced that he would speak about Russia’s “brutal war against Ukraine and our efforts to address the global impact of the war in Southeast Asia as well,” said the US President.