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HANOI, Vietnam (AP): US President Donald Trump skipped a virtual summit with his Southeast Asian counterparts on Saturday, the third year in a row that the United States has been represented at a lower level.
National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien said Trump regretted not being able to attend the online summit with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, but stressed the importance of ties to the region.
“At this time of global crisis, the strategic partnership between the US and ASEAN has become even more important as we work together to combat the coronavirus,” O’Brien said in remarks at the opening ceremony, which was held. broadcast live to ASEAN members who watched from their respective countries.
Trump attended the ASEAN summit in 2017, but only sent representatives during the last two meetings. A special summit with ASEAN that he was supposed to host in Las Vegas in March was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump is busy challenging the results of the Nov. 3 presidential race won by Democrat Joe Biden, insisting he was the victim of election fraud. Most countries have recognized Biden’s victory.
The White House said in a statement that O’Brien will also represent the United States at a virtual East Asia summit later on Saturday with ASEAN, as well as with China, Japan and South Korea. Despite Trump’s absence, he said ASEAN remains central to his vision of a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” Washington’s strategy to counter China’s growing influence in the region.
China’s influence in the region will expand with a huge free trade agreement to be signed on Sunday. The pact, which will cover nearly a third of the global economy, includes ASEAN nations, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
India pulled out of the plan last year and does not include the United States, despite $ 2 trillion in US trade with the region.
In his remarks Saturday, O’Brien touted ASEAN as America’s fourth-largest trading partner, with trade that exceeded $ 354 billion last year.
“We deeply appreciate the efforts of ASEAN partners to keep key supply chains open, factories running, and PPE running,” he said, referring to personal protective equipment used to protect against coronavirus.
He noted that the United States had contributed $ 87 million to combat the coronavirus in Southeast Asia, including providing US-made respirators and personal protective equipment.
“The United States supports you and we know that you have ours,” he added.
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