China Real Time ReportToday, 10:08
President Barack Obama, right, meets Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2015.
U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with leaders of 10 Southeast Asian nations next week in a bid to coordinate American interests ranging from security to trade with a region increasingly sandwiched between Washington and Beijing. As WSJ’s Ben Otto reports:
Participants in the two-day summit that begins Monday in southern California will discuss business and trade ties, terrorism and regional irritants such as Beijing’s disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea, U.S. officials said.
The summit, which these people said will be informal and less scripted than a normal summit, come as the U.S. and China, the region’s dominant economic, political and military power, vie for influence among the 10 countries.
The meeting will let Mr. Obama showcase the U.S.’s emphasis on Asia, U.S. officials said, without any expectation that the summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, will lead to any major agreements.
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2016/02/12/obama-moves-to-boost-u-s-ties-on-chinas-doorstep/?mod=WSJBlog
