US and ASEAN to establish Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in November

Last updated May 16, 2022

Prime Minister Hun Sen, the chair of ASEAN, in a social media message, has said that the two-day ASEAN-US Special Summit 2022 held in Washington co-chaired by him and US President Joe Biden concluded successfully.

In a joint statement, ASEAN and US expressed their commitment to establishing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in November at the end of the two-day long ASEAN-US Special Summit 2022 held in Washington, DC.

“As we celebrate the 45th anniversary of ASEAN-US Dialogue Relations in 2022, we commit to establishing an ASEAN-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership that is meaningful, substantive, and mutually beneficial at the 10th ASEAN-US Summit in November 2022. We look forward to the early completion of the necessary process,” the joint statement said.

They are also emphasizing the importance of creating a peaceful environment for further enhancing cooperation and strengthening the existing bonds of friendship between the ASEAN Member States and the United States.

The leaders also shared their commitment to fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic, strengthening economic ties and connectivity, the region’s infrastructure needs, cooperating to promote trade and investment, improving cybersecurity capabilities, and promoting digital literacy and inclusion.

In the South China Sea, the leaders recognize the benefits of having the South China Sea as a sea of peace, stability, and prosperity emphasizing the importance of practical measures that could reduce tensions and the risk of accidents, misunderstandings, and miscalculation.

Besides, the leaders are also committed to leveraging technologies and promoting innovation, and climate change, deeply concerned over the crisis in Myanmar. In Ukraine, as for all nations, we continue to reaffirm our respect for sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity.

“On Myanmar, we reiterate our call for compliance with the UN Charter and international law. We underline the importance of an immediate cessation of hostilities and creating an enabling environment for a peaceful resolution. We support the efforts of the UN Secretary-General in the search for a peaceful solution.

We also call for the facilitation of rapid, safe, and unhindered access to humanitarian assistance for those in need in Ukraine, and for the protection of civilians, humanitarian personnel, and persons in vulnerable situations,” it added.

At the summit, US President Joe Biden, in his opening remarks, expressed his warm welcome to all ASEAN leaders and said, “We’re not only celebrating 45 years of partnership and friendship between ASEAN and the United States, we’re launching a new era — a new era in US-ASEAN relations.”

Biden also expressed his thanks to Prime Minister Hun Sen as the 2022 ASEAN Chair and President of Indonesia Joko Widodo, the Country Coordinator of ASEAN in his speech.

Last October, at the virtual summit, the US announced $100 million to support — for programs to strengthen US-ASEAN cooperation and at this summit, the US announced another $150 million for initiatives to deepen US-ASEAN relations and achieve better-shared objectives from the Coast Guard to climate change too — to modern infrastructure. “There’s a whole range of things that we have to work on,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kao Kim Hourn, Minister Attached to the Prime Minister told reporters before the commencement of the summit Hun Sen had expressed his hope that the US will upgrade the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

“Mr Hun Sen said it is a rare opportunity for both sides to further strengthen and upgrade their relations from strategic partnership to a comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation, as this year marks the 45th anniversary of their dialogue relations,” said Kim Hourn.

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