President Joe Biden landed in Cambodia on Saturday still basking in the results of midterm elections that have given him an unexpected boost at home for his second two-year term.
The scale of the challenges abroad, and the effort to translate 21 months of intensive engagement into tangible results for US alliances, will test the value of that political capital on the international stage, even as the votes are still being counted.
Biden is set to face a number of sharp challenges in his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, crucial allies in an Indo-Pacific region rocked by an increasingly belligerent North Korea. An assertive and confrontational China, long a central issue for the Biden administration, also looms large.
Biden will also meet with Kishida and Yun separately before their trilateral meeting.
Biden’s stop at the summit of Asian nations comes as advisers see a clear boost from the reversal of historical and political trends in the midterm elections. While Biden’s message will not change dramatically, the weight behind it is arguably stronger after American voters delivered a message that exceeded the hopes of even the most optimistic White House officials.
The trio of world leaders previously met on the sidelines of the NATO summit in June, pledging to strengthen cooperation – a complex task for major US allies who have a historically fraught relationship.
But that cooperation is imperative, as recent, escalating aggression from North Korea will be the focus of the trio of leaders on Sunday. North Korea has conducted missile launches on 32 days this year, according to a CNN count of ballistic and cruise missiles. Instead, he only played four tests in 2020 and eight in 2021.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan suggested on Saturday that the meeting would not result in specific deliverables, telling reporters on Air Force One that the leaders “will be able to discuss broader issues of security in the Indo-Pacific and also, specifically, the threats from North Korea. missiles and nuclear programs”.
The tripartite comes a day before a high-stakes one-on-one meeting between Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, their first face-to-face meeting since Biden took office. This meeting will take place on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali.
Speaking to reporters Sunday morning, Biden said he enters the meeting with Xi in a position of relative strength.
“I know I’m coming stronger,” he said, noting that he knew Xi well and that there had been “very little misunderstanding” between the two leaders.
“We just have to figure out what the red lines are and what are the most important things for each of us going forward in the next few years,” Biden said.
Biden, Yun and Fumio will also discuss Monday’s meeting during the trilateral meeting.
“One thing President Biden certainly wants to do with our closest allies is preview what he plans to do and also ask the leaders of (South Korea) and Japan, ‘What would you like me to address?’ What do you want me to go with?’ Sullivan said, adding that “it will be an issue, but it won’t be the main event of the three-way.”
Earlier on Sunday, Biden will attend the East Asia Summit, building on Saturday’s appearance at the ASEAN Summit aimed at strengthening US-Indo-Pacific relations. He then meets up with Fumio and Yun before departing for Bali.
That leg of the trip, a senior administration official told reporters in a phone call earlier this week, reflects the “enhanced engagement with ASEAN and Southeast Asia” during the Biden administration.
Biden, the official added, will “articulate our vision of maintaining a momentum of enhanced engagement and trying to address the important concerns for ASEAN in ways that they are looking for,” keeping with an ongoing theme during the Biden presidency. alliances in strategic competition with China.
Among the main topics of discussion this weekend in Cambodia, the official said, is the ongoing conflict in Myanmar, where the military seized power in a coup last year.
World leaders will discuss “efforts to promote respect for human rights, the rule of law and good governance, the rules-based international order, and to address the ongoing crisis in Burma.”
Biden arrived in Phnom Penh on Saturday, holding a bilateral meeting with ASEAN Chairman and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, and participating in the ASEAN-US summit.
“This is my third trip, my third summit – second in person, and it’s a testament to the importance the United States places on our relationship with ASEAN and our commitment to the centrality of ASEAN. ASEAN is at the heart of my government’s Indo-Pacific strategy. And we continue to strengthen our commitment to work seamlessly with a strong, unified ASEAN,” Biden said at the start of the summit.
On Friday, Biden made a three-hour stop in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, where he attended the COP27 climate summit and met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.
title: “Biden To Meet Top Us Allies Japan And South Korea After Interim Boost "
ShowToc: true
date: “2022-11-02”
author: “Lila Trotter”
President Joe Biden landed in Cambodia on Saturday still basking in the results of midterm elections that have given him an unexpected boost at home for his second two-year term.
The scale of the challenges abroad, and the effort to translate 21 months of intensive engagement into tangible results for US alliances, will test the value of that political capital on the international stage, even as the votes are still being counted.
Biden is set to face a number of sharp challenges in his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, crucial allies in an Indo-Pacific region rocked by an increasingly belligerent North Korea. An assertive and confrontational China, long a central issue for the Biden administration, also looms large.
Biden will also meet with Kishida and Yun separately before their trilateral meeting.
Biden’s stop at the summit of Asian nations comes as advisers see a clear boost from the reversal of historical and political trends in the midterm elections. While Biden’s message will not change dramatically, the weight behind it is arguably stronger after American voters delivered a message that exceeded the hopes of even the most optimistic White House officials.
The trio of world leaders previously met on the sidelines of the NATO summit in June, pledging to strengthen cooperation – a complex task for major US allies who have a historically fraught relationship.
But that cooperation is imperative, as recent, escalating aggression from North Korea will be the focus of the trio of leaders on Sunday. North Korea has conducted missile launches on 32 days this year, according to a CNN count of ballistic and cruise missiles. Instead, he only played four tests in 2020 and eight in 2021.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan suggested on Saturday that the meeting would not result in specific deliverables, telling reporters on Air Force One that the leaders “will be able to discuss broader issues of security in the Indo-Pacific and also, specifically, the threats from North Korea. missiles and nuclear programs”.
The tripartite comes a day before a high-stakes one-on-one meeting between Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, their first face-to-face meeting since Biden took office. This meeting will take place on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali.
Speaking to reporters Sunday morning, Biden said he enters the meeting with Xi in a position of relative strength.
“I know I’m coming stronger,” he said, noting that he knew Xi well and that there had been “very little misunderstanding” between the two leaders.
“We just have to figure out what the red lines are and what are the most important things for each of us going forward in the next few years,” Biden said.
Biden, Yun and Fumio will also discuss Monday’s meeting during the trilateral meeting.
“One thing President Biden certainly wants to do with our closest allies is preview what he plans to do and also ask the leaders of (South Korea) and Japan, ‘What would you like me to address?’ What do you want me to go with?’ Sullivan said, adding that “it will be an issue, but it won’t be the main event of the three-way.”
Earlier on Sunday, Biden will attend the East Asia Summit, building on Saturday’s appearance at the ASEAN Summit aimed at strengthening US-Indo-Pacific relations. He then meets up with Fumio and Yun before departing for Bali.
That leg of the trip, a senior administration official told reporters in a phone call earlier this week, reflects the “enhanced engagement with ASEAN and Southeast Asia” during the Biden administration.
Biden, the official added, will “articulate our vision of maintaining a momentum of enhanced engagement and trying to address the important concerns for ASEAN in ways that they are looking for,” keeping with an ongoing theme during the Biden presidency. alliances in strategic competition with China.
Among the main topics of discussion this weekend in Cambodia, the official said, is the ongoing conflict in Myanmar, where the military seized power in a coup last year.
World leaders will discuss “efforts to promote respect for human rights, the rule of law and good governance, the rules-based international order, and to address the ongoing crisis in Burma.”
Biden arrived in Phnom Penh on Saturday, holding a bilateral meeting with ASEAN Chairman and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, and participating in the ASEAN-US summit.
“This is my third trip, my third summit – second in person, and it’s a testament to the importance the United States places on our relationship with ASEAN and our commitment to the centrality of ASEAN. ASEAN is at the heart of my government’s Indo-Pacific strategy. And we continue to strengthen our commitment to work seamlessly with a strong, unified ASEAN,” Biden said at the start of the summit.
On Friday, Biden made a three-hour stop in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, where he attended the COP27 climate summit and met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.
