US did not try to pressure Asean nations to distance themselves from Russia at White House summit, official says
- Special assistant to the US president Edgard Kagan says expanded US-Asean ties are ‘really critical’ to Washington’s efforts in the Pacific amid China’s rise
- Joe Biden told last week’s event America wanted a ‘new era’ in relations and promised greater cooperation over the South China Sea
On Tuesday Edgard Kagan, special assistant to the US president and senior director for East Asia and Oceania on the National Security Council, said US President Joe Biden had discussed the importance of having a strong international response regarding the Ukraine war with Asean leaders.
“I don’t think that there was a particular focus on trying to persuade countries to distance themselves [from Russia]. I think that there was, however, focus on making sure the countries understood the US perspective,” he said during the press call on Tuesday.
“I think that we recognise that every country in the region has shown different history. And some of them have closer ties to Russia,” he said.
Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary in the Department of State bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, who was also on the call, said there was a “strong consensus” among participating countries in outlining principles regarding Ukraine.
“I’m just quite gratified and impressed by the number of leaders that spoke out to express their concerns,” Kritenbrink said.
Kagan said it was important to expand US-Asean ties, which were “really critical” to Washington’s broader efforts in the Pacific.
“I think the president is very, very committed to the idea that we can’t allow ourselves to be overly focused on Ukraine,” he said.
“The administration needs to continue doing what it laid out from the very beginning of its time in office in terms of really focusing on the Indo-Pacific and expanding and strengthening our position and our relations in the Indo-Pacific,” he added.
The joint statement said the US and Asean would step up maritime cooperation, including coordinating among maritime law agencies to curb illegal fishing and ensure freedom of navigation over the South China Sea.
The US is not a claimant in the disputed waters, sovereignty over which is contested by mainland China, several of its Southeast Asian neighbours and Taiwan.
However, Washington has long deployed military aircraft and vessels to the resource-rich waters for freedom-of-navigation operations, which have been denounced by Beijing as violating its sovereignty.
“I would say it is perfectly natural that in a US-Asean summit that there would be a focus on maritime issues, particularly in the South China Sea,” Kritenbrink said.