President Joe Biden will host national leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Washington this week. It is the latest in an effort to demonstrate that the United States will be a lasting partner to the nations of Southeast Asia, according to comments made by the White House’s chief Asia strategist.
“This is a special summit,” said Kurt Campbell, White House Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs. “We’ve never had a summit between the United States and ASEAN in Washington D.C. before.”
In all, eight of the ten leaders are expected to be in attendance in Washington on May 12 and 13, with only the leaders of Burma (Myanmar) and the Philippines not present.
…