{"id":48303,"date":"2022-05-12T10:34:06","date_gmt":"2022-05-12T10:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=48303"},"modified":"2022-05-12T10:34:06","modified_gmt":"2022-05-12T10:34:06","slug":"asean-leaders-head-to-white-house-for-key-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=48303","title":{"rendered":"ASEAN leaders head to White House for key summit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will meet United States President Joe Biden at a White House summit on Thursday, as the US attempts to drive home its \u201cenduring commitment<\/a>\u201d to the region.<\/p>\n

The summit marks the first time ASEAN leaders have been invited to the White House in 45 years. The last time all the countries\u2019 leaders visited the US was in 2016, when they met then-President Barack Obama at the Sunnylands ranch in California.<\/p>\n

Only eight of the group\u2019s 10 leaders are expected in Washington, DC, this time around.<\/p>\n

The Philippines is in the midst of a leadership transition after polls this week to choose a new president, while Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who toppled Myanmar\u2019s elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a 2021 coup, has been barred from the event.<\/p>\n

A senior official in the US said there had been discussions over whether to have \u201can empty chair to reflect our dissatisfaction with what\u2019s taken place and our hope for a better path forward\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Barack<\/img>
ASEAN leaders were last in the US in 2016, when then-President Barack Obama invited them to Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, California [File: Kevin Lamarque\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is happening over the two days?<\/h2>\n

Biden is rolling out the red carpet for the Southeast Asian leaders \u2013 including Cambodia\u2019s Prime Minister Hun Sen who has wiped out any domestic opposition to his rule and, in his role as the current chair of ASEAN, ruffled feathers by becoming the first foreign leader to visit Myanmar since the February 2021 coup.<\/p>\n

The first official engagement on May 12 will be a visit to the Capitol, where the ASEAN leaders will meet House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and have a working lunch with both Democrat and Republican members.<\/p>\n

After that, they will meet Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai as well as senior business leaders to discuss deeper economic cooperation.<\/p>\n

In the evening, the leaders will join President Joe Biden for an \u201cintimate dinner\u201d at the White House.<\/p>\n

The event is \u201can opportunity to listen to the leaders about their aspirations for where they want to take ASEAN and how the United States can help,\u201d the senior official said. Each leader will also have \u201cquick, private time\u201d with Biden, he added.<\/p>\n

On May 13, Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken will host a working lunch with discussions to focus on maritime cooperation, pandemic recovery, and health security. Climate will also be on the agenda.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of the ambition of this summit is to broaden and deepen not only the level of engagement in the US government but to broaden it across every element of our government,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

Later on the second day, the leaders will meet Biden for a second time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe meeting is the message,\u201d the Reuters news agency quoted former Singapore diplomat Bilahari Kausikan as saying at the Stimson Center think tank on Monday.<\/p>\n

What about Myanmar?<\/h2>\n

Myanmar has been a member of ASEAN since 1997, when it was admitted to the organisation during a previous military regime.<\/p>\n

The group, which operates under the principle of consensus and non-interference, appears to have taken a marginally tougher line towards the generals with the latest coup, which followed 10 years of political reform.<\/p>\n

Min Aung Hlaing attended a summit of the group in April 2021, at the end of which a so-called \u2018five point consensus<\/a>\u2018 was agreed upon to chart a way out of the crisis triggered by the military\u2019s power grab.<\/p>\n

But the generals have made no effort to meet any of the commitments, which included \u201cconstructive dialogue\u201d with \u201call parties\u201d to end the turmoil and bring an \u201cimmediate\u201d end to the violence.<\/p>\n