US, Asean leaders vow closer ties

In their first joint meeting on American soil, the leaders of the United States and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) took fresh steps to cement their growing engagement and pledged to cooperate more closely in key areas such as education and trade.

They agreed to convene again next year on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Jakarta, a sign that their meeting would likely be an annual affair. The first US-Asean Summit was in Singapore last year.

Visiting Singaporen Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told members of the Singapore media: “It is significant that we were able to gather nearly all of the leaders together and have this (second) meeting in New York hosted by the US. It is a commitment which President (Barack) Obama made last year and which we have been able to follow up.”

President Obama added that last Friday’s summit reflected the grouping’s “growing importance and the unprecedented cooperation between Asean and the US”.

The two-hour meeting, held over lunch at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, brought together the leaders of the US, Brunei, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as senior representatives from Indonesia, Laos and Burma. They held broad-ranging talks on the economy, trade and regional security, including the South China Sea dispute.

They agreed to appoint a top advisory group that would study how best to take the US-Asean partnership to a “strategic level” – a step aimed at institutionalising the relationship. The advisory group is expected to submit its recommendations by next year. Asean has taken similar steps in the past to forge strategic partnerships with China, Japan and South Korea.

In his speech at the summit, Lee said it is important for the US to maintain strong ties with Asean countries, where it has “many friends and interests”.

Despite the rapid transformations brought on by rising powers like China and India, the US continues to play an “indispensable role” in security, trade and finance in the Asia-Pacific region, he added.

Obama was equally emphatic, saying: “The US has an enormous stake in the people and the future of Asia. The region is home to some of our largest trading partners and buys many of our exports, supporting millions of American jobs.

“I have made it clear that the US intends to play a leadership role in Asia.”

At the end of their talks, the leaders agreed to focus on education and trade as two main areas for greater mutual cooperation.

Lee said education was an issue that was relevant to every country, while trade would have a catalytic effect on the broader relationship that Asean and the US want. He added: “Trade is of great importance to the whole relationship for the long term because if you can promote trade and have an active trade agenda, then you have the basis for a broader relationship in areas like security, culture and so on.”

Two-way trade between Asean and the US exceeds US$200 billion annually, with American exports to Asean currently growing twice as fast as to other regions. Collectively, the 10 Asean countries represent America’s fifth largest trading partner and fourth largest export market.

Despite their robust trade ties, the two sides shied away from any hint of a possible US-Asean Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

Observers said this was as much due to the difficult political environment in the US as the uncertain fate of three stalled FTAs, including with South Korea.

“Everyone is looking at the US- South Korea FTA as the barometer,” said Ms Tami Overby of the US Chamber of Commerce. “If President Obama and his team are successful in moving that in November, then it’s a whole new game.”

Separately, PM Lee had a bilateral meeting with new Philippine President Benigno Aquino on the sidelines of the summit.

Meeting for the first time since Aquino’s June 30 inauguration, the two leaders affirmed their countries’ warm bilateral ties and talked about ways to enhance cooperation. Lee also invited Aquino to visit Singapore. –Chua Chin Hon, The Straits Times