On his first visit to Southeast Asia as President, Joe Biden said the region is central to his administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy and that Washington is providing the region with resources not just in rhetoric but as part of a new global strategic partnership.

Together we will tackle the biggest issues of our time, from climate to health securityhe said at the opening of a meeting in Cambodia with the leaders of 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

We will build a free and open, stable and prosperous, resilient and secure Indo-Pacifiche added.

The meeting ofASEAN brings together a variety of leaders, including the Canadian Prime Minister Justin TrudeauJapanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.

The event is the first in a series of summits to be held in Southeast Asia over the next seven days, set to discuss sensitive global issues such as the war in Ukraine, the climate and regional tensions across the Taiwan Strait and southern China Sea and North Korean missile attacks.

Joe Biden’s presence comes as the United States seeks to reaffirm its commitment to the region, after a period of uncertainty under Donald Trump’s presidency and in a context where China itself is seeking to increase its influence.

Chinese influence

China and theASEAN announced last year a strengthening of their relationship through a global strategic partnership.

Leaders from around the world will attend an East Asia summit in Phnom Penh on Sunday, ahead of a business meeting and G20 leaders’ summit in Bali next week. They will then meet in Bangkok for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum.

During the meetings, Joe Biden will focus on the Indo-Pacific region and discuss the United States’ commitment to a rules-based order in the South China Sea, a senior US administration official said earlier this week.

However, some analysts downplayed the expectations raised by Joe Biden’s presence, believing it demonstrated the United States’ return to a normal diplomacyespecially with the strengthening of strategic relationships with theASEAN.

On Saturday, the US President said the meetings would focus on the war brutally being waged by Russia against Ukraine, and efforts by the United States to manage the conflict’s global impact.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is attending the events on behalf of President Vladimir Putin, while Indonesian hosts confirmed on Saturday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the G20 meeting remotely.

Ukraine is making efforts to extend its engagement with theASEAN and its foreign minister, Dmytro Kouleba, is calling on the leaders of the association to condemn Russia’s invasion of the country and warning them that neutrality is not in their interest.