According to the itinerary released by the White House, Biden will attend the ASEAN-US summit held online on the 26th.
It is four years since the president of the United States has attended the summit again. Biden's predecessor, Trump, who attended an ASEAN-U.S. summit in Manila in 2017, has not attended a meeting at the head of state level since.
Reuters analysis pointed out that Biden's meeting with ASEAN reflects his administration's efforts to win allies and partners to deal with China. Biden will focus on cooperation on COVID-19 vaccine distribution, climate change, supply chains and infrastructure; he will reassure ASEAN that the recent U.S. engagement with India, Japan and Australia in the so-called "quartet" and the supply of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia are not intended to replace ASEAN's central role in the region.
Kagan, senior director for East Asian and Oceania affairs at the White House National Security Council, stressed last week that Washington does not see the group of four as "Asian NATO" and has no intention of competing with ASEAN. He said Washington was interested in working with ASEAN to ensure supply chain, climate resilience and address "common challenges on maritime issues."
Hibbert, deputy director of the CSIS Southeast Asia Program at the U.S. Center for Strategic and International Studies, noted that this will be Biden's first meeting with ASEAN leaders as president, so he wants to reassure them that Southeast Asia is important to his administration. Hibbert noted that ASEAN leaders will be interested to know whether the United States plans to increase covid-19 vaccines to the region and how Washington plans to participate in trade, investment and infrastructure development.
The ASEAN-U.S. summit is part of the ASEAN summit, and Myanmar military leader Min Aung Hlay was excluded from the summit. White House officials said it was an important step, but more needed to be done to address the challenges facing Myanmar.
Source: Phoenix TV Wang Youyou, Chen Yiqiu Washington report
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Myanmar authorities: Do not attend the ASEAN summit without inviting Min Aung Nlay or ministerial representatives
The ASEAN summit was held in Brunei on the 26th, and the Myanmar military issued a statement saying that unless Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Nlay or ministerial representatives were invited to attend the ASEAN summit, the ASEAN invitation could not be accepted, otherwise the decision made at the ASEAN summit would not be accepted.
The Burmese military statement criticized ASEAN for inviting only non-political representatives of Myanmar to attend, reducing the status of Myanmar representatives and restricting discussions at the meeting, in violation of the equal participation provisions of the ASEAN Charter.
Earlier, due to the lack of cooperation between the Myanmar military and the refusal to allow ASEAN envoys to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi, ASEAN decided not to invite Min Aung Nhay to attend the ASEAN summit, in response to which the military said that it would try to resolve differences through dialogue through ASEAN, but would not accept any interference in internal affairs and undermine ASEAN unity.
Some scholars believe that ASEAN is a diplomatic channel for the Myanmar military, and not participating in the meeting is a lost opportunity. A Myanmar military spokesman told the media that attending an unequal meeting would be a diplomatic blow and that no decision had yet been made on whether to send someone to the ASEAN summit.
Nine months after myanmar's military seized power, it has been unable to quell opposition, and the international community has stepped up pressure to engage in dialogue with the opposition, but the military has refused to negotiate with dissidents, including the Government of National Unity.
Source: Phoenix TV Yang Shaomou Reported by Yangon, Myanmar
Editor: Erya Wang