WASHINGTON, May 13 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden opened a gathering of leaders of Southeast Asian countries on Thursday by pledging to spend $150 million on infrastructure, security, health and other areas , with the aim of countering the influence of China in the region.
While the war in Ukraine is at the heart of the news, the Biden administration hopes to show the ten countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that Washington has not forgotten Indo- Pacific and the long-term challenge posed by Beijing, its main rival.
In November alone, China promised Asean countries $1.5 billion in development aid over three years to fight the coronavirus pandemic and revive the economy.
“We have to raise our level in Southeast Asia,” a senior US official told reporters. “We are not asking countries to choose between the United States and China. We want to make it clear, however, that the United States seeks a stronger relationship.”
This is the first time that all ASEAN leaders have met at the White House. It is also their first summit since 2016 chaired by an American president. (Report Trevor Hunnicutt, Michael Martina, David Brunnstrom and Doina Chiacu; French version Jean Terzian)