California, here we come: date set for first-ever Asean summit hosted by a US president
The February meeting will take place at the Sunnylands estate, where Obama and President Xi Jinping held an unusually informal summit in 2013
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US President Barack Obama will host leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, California on February 15 and 16, the White House said.
Obama's office dubbed the meeting, the first hosted by a US president with the 10 Asean leaders, “unprecedented” and said it would further his aim of “rebalancing” US foreign policy towards Asia.
“This summit will provide leaders a forum to strengthen cooperation under the new US-Asean strategic partnership, launched in November 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, on political, security, and economic issues,” it said.
Obama had announced plans for the summit in Kuala Lumpur last month, but the White House statement put a date on the meeting.
Hawaii-born Obama took office hoping to be the “Pacific president,” pivoting the focus of American overseas ties towards Asia and Pacific trade and security.
In this he has often been frustrated, however, by the need to deal with ongoing US military or diplomatic involvement in the conflicts in Afghanistan, Ukraine and the Arab world.
The choice of Sunnylands is symbolic as the retreat was the venue of an informal meeting between Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 that sought to chart a new way forward in US-China relations but did little to ease tensions.
The Asean summit comes as Washington is striving to show its commitment to its Asian allies at a time when great power rival China is flexing its muscles in maritime territorial disputes.
Additional reporting by Reuters and Associated Press
