In opening speeches at the Asean+3 Summit in Cambodia, the bloc’s key trading partners called for closer regional cooperation and greater investments in strengthening supply chains.
South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol said the international community is facing “multiple challenges” including “food security and an energy crisis caused by climate change,” which he said were being exacerbated by the “protracted war.”
“In each area of politics, economy, society, and culture, we must forge closer cooperation and solidarity,” Yoon said at the summit, held on the second of three days of high-level meetings hosted by Asean.
Chinese premier Li Keqiang said East Asia has become an “important engine” for global growth.
Regional cooperation will “not only contribute to social economic development of our respective countries but also to the stability and smoothness of international and regional industrial supply chains,” Li stressed.
Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida vowed that Tokyo will “promote investment in quality infrastructure” in areas like information technology and logistics.
He said Japan would also work to “promote investment in startups and strengthen supply chain resilience.”
US president Joe Biden, who arrived today for his first Southeast Asian trip since taking office, was expected to discuss themes including maritime security, sustainable infrastructure, and human rights with the Asean bloc.
In their own summit today, Asean and the US are expected to sign a “comprehensive strategic partnership,” elevating ties to match partnerships the 10-nation bloc forged last year with China and Australia.
Southeast Asia is a key arena for the US-China rivalry, as the powers compete for influence through infrastructure and other endeavors.
Asean leaders met with Li yesterday and issued a statement supporting Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, which offers infrastructure aid including, most recently, a new US$2 billion expressway linking Phnom Penh and the port town of Sihanoukville.
The White House has sought to make up ground, offering US$150 million in aid when Biden hosted a special summit with Asean leaders in Washington in May.
The region’s biggest infrastructure donor remains Japan.
Kishida rushed to make the meeting, touching down in the Cambodian capital at dawn after an eleventh-hour political scandal at home threatened to delay him.
Embattled Ukraine also is boosting ties with Asean, urging it to join countries demanding Russia let grain shipments pass through the Black Sea, a bottleneck that threatens global food supplies as costs spiral.