Moving ahead with his vision of strengthening ties with Asian countries, U.S. President Barack Obama inaugurated a two-day, 10-nation summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, California on Monday.
"This reflects my personal commitment, and the national commitment of the United States, to a strong and enduring partnership with your 10 nations. Here at this summit, we can advance our shared vision of a regional order where international rules and norms, including freedom of navigation, are upheld and where disputes are resolved through peaceful, legal means," Obama said in his inaugural address, according to Reuters.
The meetings between the participating nations - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia - will focus on the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal and maritime issues, with special emphasis on the South China Sea.
"You and the people of ASEAN have always shown me extraordinary hospitality and I hope we can reciprocate with the warmth of today and tomorrow, which is why I did not hold this summit in Washington," Obama added, while putting on record that trade between the United States and ASEAN countries had increased by 55 percent since he had taken office, reports DW. Trade between the ASEAN nations and the U.S. is approximately $226 billion.
According to Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser, "we want to make very clear that the United States is going to be at the table and a part of setting the agenda in the Asia Pacific in the decades to come. In order to do that, we need to be engaging organizations like ASEAN at the highest levels," reports the Christian Science Monitor.
