Addressing the East Asia Summit in Cambodia on Sunday, Biden said the US would compete with China and speak out on human rights, but stressed the importance of peace in the Taiwan Strait and ensuring freedom of navigation in the South Sea China. Biden also condemned Russia’s “brutal and unjust” invasion of Ukraine and North Korea’s missile test threats, the White House said, and called on Myanmar’s military leaders to follow a peace plan agreed with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). . The Southeast Asian region is also hosting the Group of 20 (G20) Summit in Bali, Indonesia, from November 15 to 16, ahead of which Biden will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time since taking office. of his duties, with relations between the two superpowers. at their lowest point in decades. US officials have previously expressed frustration that lower-level Chinese officials have been unable or unwilling to talk about Xi, and hope that the face-to-face meeting will allow progress in areas of mutual interest – and, more crucially, shared understanding each other’s limitations. “I know him well, he knows me,” Biden said of Xi. “We just have to figure out where the red lines are and what the most important things are for each of us in the next two years.” As president, Biden has repeatedly condemned China for human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, Beijing’s crackdown on democracy activists in Hong Kong, coercive trade practices, military provocations against self-ruled Taiwan and disputes over Russian invasion of Ukraine. . The Xi administration has criticized the Biden administration’s stance toward self-ruled Taiwan — which Beijing wants to unite with the mainland — as undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Chinese president has also suggested that Washington wants to curb Beijing’s growing influence as it seeks to overtake the US as the world’s largest economy. The war in Ukraine is expected to feature prominently in discussions in Bali and at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Bangkok, Thailand, at the end of the week, as well as global commitments on climate, food security and tensions over the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea and North Korean missile launches. North Korea has fired dozens of missiles in recent weeks, including an intercontinental ballistic missile 10 days ago that prompted evacuation alerts in northern Japan, and allies are warning of a looming risk that it could conduct its seventh nuclear test in the coming weeks. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Saturday that Biden plans to use the meetings to strengthen a joint response by Japan, South Korea and the US to the dangers posed by North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Korea. “What we would really like to see is enhanced trilateral security cooperation where the three countries all come together,” he said. “This is absolutely true in relation to the DPRK because of the common threat and challenge we all face, but it is also true, more broadly, of our ability to work together to enhance overall peace and stability in the region.” Eighteen countries representing half of the global economy participated in Sunday’s East Asia Summit, including ASEAN countries, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the US . ASEAN members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who represents President Vladimir Putin, accused the West on Sunday of militarizing Southeast Asia to limit Chinese and Russian interest in a key geostrategic battleground. “The United States and its NATO allies are trying to dominate this space,” Lavrov told a news conference in Phnom Penh. He said Biden’s Indo-Pacific strategy, which the US president pushed strongly at the meeting, was an attempt to bypass “inclusive structures” for regional cooperation. In a separate press conference, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his brief talks the previous day with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang had been constructive and positive, amid anticipation of a formal summit with Xi. Australia’s ties with China have also soured in recent years. “I have said repeatedly about the relationship with China that we should cooperate where we can,” Albanese said.
