Najib at US-Asean leaders summit hosted by Obama

Obama has championed a foreign policy pivot to Asia and seeks to present the U.S.as a pacific power.

PM Lee said he is confident that ASEAN and the US will expand economic ties and deepen trade links – a sentiment echoed by US President Barack Obama in his opening remarks.

“It is cold there”.

While American officials have said the Sunnylands talks were not about China, state media responded with scepticism.

In line with the relaxed atmosphere, all leaders wore open-collar shirts with their suits.

As US President Barack Obama and Southeast Asian leaders conclude a landmark summit on Tuesday, Beijing will be warily eyeing a statement that is likely to touch on the contentious South China Sea disputes.

Obama said trade between the USA and members of the Southeast Asian bloc had increased by 55 percent since he took office.

With a combined Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of US$2.4 trillion (about RM10 trillion) and a population of more than 600 million with a growing middle class, Asean serves as an important partner to the United States, said Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak. The U.S. and China are competing for influence among Asian nations.

The summit is also expected to discuss issues concerning security, politics, terrorism and the South China Sea.

China says it has a historical right to virtually all of the South China Sea and has built seven artificial islands, including with airstrips, to assert its sovereignty.

For Obama, the gathering is chiefly another opportunity in his long-term plan to nurture relationships with Southeast Asian leaders and to bolster the regional alliance among Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. “But I think those fears will be misplaced because there are 10 countries with 10 different views”, Storey said.

Others are interested in joining, and the White House wants to make sure the pact goes into effect. “It won’t be focused primarily on the South China Sea”, she said in response to a question.

“It is a significant meeting for both Asean and the US”.

A main discussion point will be territorial disputes in the South China Sea and China’s increasing activities in the region. The two countries are the destination for large flows of Chinese investment.

Obama’s reasons may not be immediately obvious: The leaders arriving at the lush Sunnylands retreat represent relatively small countries, including some of the world’s poorest, such as Laos and Burma.

At the meeting in Sunnylands, a southern California desert resort, the leaders sat around a horseshoe-shaped table.

All the heads of the state or government of the 10 ASEAN-member countries are attending the meeting, except Myanmar President Thein Sein, who sent Vice President Nyan Tun as his substitute.

Among the topics high on the agenda were trade – especially the Trans-Pacific Partnership – and ongoing concerns about Chinese military aggression. But the deal, formally signed this month, has not been ratified by the U.S. Congress and remains in limbo. At your invitation, the United States joined the East Asia Summit, and together we’ve made it the region’s leading forum for addressing political and security challenges. Police said the attackers were linked to IS.

And here at the summit, we can reaffirm that strong, prosperous and inclusive societies require good governance, rule of law, accountable institutions, vibrant civil societies, and upholding human rights.